


Merlyn's Redemption

by Bl4ckHunter



Series: The Dar(h)k War Saga [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 11:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 42,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13680762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bl4ckHunter/pseuds/Bl4ckHunter
Summary: Following the fall of the Green Arrow and his best friend, Tommy has been trying to make up for his past sins as Prometheus, taking on his role as the new guardian of Star City, even though it is not easy for him to forgive himself and his clashing interests with Team Arrow does not make things any easier. Though, they'll need to trust each other when new dangerous foes show up.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new vigilante arrives to town and who it is, shocks both Thea and Diggle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my sequels to THE DAR(H)K WAR, I have planned more sequels coming but if I'm gonna actually write them depends on the inspiration for them and the time I can find for them.
> 
> If you have not read my fanfiction novel THE DAR(H)K WAR, I recommend reading it, so that you are not confused about some parts in this story. And warning, the updates might be irregular because I've gotta work on stuff from college and I might not get often ideas for how this story will go.
> 
> Most of the plot will follow S5, without Prometheus stuff (for the confused ones, all has been explained in THE DAR(H)K WAR) and sometimes I will try to find inspiration in other comic books or my own ideas for this story.
> 
> I do not own  DC Comics  or the CW TV shows  Arrow ,  The Flash ,  Legends of Tomorrow  or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises
> 
> Hope you have fun
> 
> With regards
> 
> Bl4ckHunter

Lonnie Machin engaged a hooded man, holding a bow and a katana in his hands in close combat, pinning him to the window before the hooded man threw him to the ground, pummeling him, before the floor beneath them collapsed, causing for both of them to fall a few stories down as he saw in the room also a bomb but then, Machin got up on his feet, fighting the hooded man with his scythes but the hooded man blocked with his sword and bow and kicked Machin back and as Machin was about to attack again, the hooded man fired an arrow, pinning Machin's hands to a pillar as he screamed out as the hooded man stood there, while Machin looked disappointed.

"What, you're not gonna kill me?" Machin mocked. "What does a guy have to do to get a little love? Only tried to blow up a half of city."

The archer knocked Machin out before approaching the bomb, looking at the wiring and tapping his comms.

"Evergreen, do you copy?"

" _Loud and clear._ " A female voice said. " _Tap the device in and I'll handle it._ " The archer plugged a wire from a bomb to a small device on his belt as a few moments later, the bomb was deactivated. " _Done. Though, if I were you, I'd get out of there, while you still can, Merlyn._ "

"Copy that." The archer said as he fired a grapnel arrow to the ceiling and vanished as a few moments later, Spartan, Arsenal, Wild Dog and Speedy entered.

"Damn it, we're late again." Arsenal groaned as they saw knocked out Machin and Speedy took a closer look at the arrow that pinned the criminal's hands to the wall.

"Those are the same arrows that Prometheus used."

It clicked for Spartan. "You're not thinking that he's back…"

Speedy nodded, not saying the thought out loud though.

* * *

_**Elsewhere in Star City** _

The hooded man entered a penthouse outside the town through the roof window as a young blonde woman, with a towel wrapped around her was coming out from shower, while the hooded man took off his hood, revealing the face of Tommy Merlyn as the blonde woman kissed him.

"How did it go?" The woman asked.

"Not bad, for the first week." Tommy teased.

"First Derek Sampson, now him… I like your job offer, Merlyn…"

"I told you, as far as the world is concerned, Tommy Merlyn is dead." He denied. "I cannot go out there like that. People might recognize…"

"That's why I made this for you." The woman said as she pulled out a small briefcase, revealing a wig, fake nose, some contact lenses and a moustache. "Now, all we need is a false background and an alias."

"Connor. Connor... Hawke?" Tommy suggested.

"No, that's cheesy." The woman shrugged. "How about ' _Connor Rhodes_ '? That was my Mom's maiden name."

" _Rhodes_?" Tommy chuckled. "I like it."

"Though, how are you going to present yourself to people of Star City?"

"When I was…  _him_ …" Tommy looked down ashamed as the woman. "I… I was a monster…"

"That was all Takeo. Not you." The woman assured him. "You're a good person, Tommy." She touched his breast.

"Thanks. You're one of the few people that have always seen the good in me, Rachel." Tommy smiled gratefully before an idea hit him. "When Takeo trained me, I had to learn a lot of medicine; weak spots of body, pressure points, blood circulation and so on. Maybe I could pass myself as a doctor…"

"Give me an hour and I'll dummy up your credentials, Tom… Connor." Rachel corrected herself as she kissed him, while he ripped her towel off her body and both of them were making out on their bed.

* * *

**_The Lair_ **

"Someone got to Machin before you?" Curtis asked.

"And he was very picky about his weapon of choice." Thea nodded as she pulled out a black arrow from her quiver. "Looks familiar?"

"Isn't that one of Prometheus's?" Curtis scowled in recognition. "But… Tommy is…" Then he widened his eyes in realization.

"He's back in Star City." Diggle said grimly, while Thea looked hopeful, trying to reach her half-brother.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you guys think? Is it good? Is it bad? Should I continue?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this.
> 
> And BTW, Connor Rhodes is a character from Chicago Med TV series, also played by Colin Donnell, who played in Arrow Tommy Merlyn.
> 
> The new character Rachel Gibson here is based on character of same name from spy TV series Alias and just to add a face, imagine she's played by Rachel Nichols. The stuff regarding Tommy will be explained as the plot continues, though I must warn you, the updates might be irregular because I am working on more stories now and I am a little busy with college.


	2. The New Archer in Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy tries to atone for his sins as Prometheus, while trying to start a new life. But his past eventually comes back to haunt him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  I do not own  DC Comics  or the CW TV shows  Arrow ,  The Flash ,  Legends of Tomorrow  or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises

* * *

_**Policemen Benefit** _

"Thea, are you sure?" Quentin inquired as Thea informed him about the apprehending of Lonnie Machin after he finished his speech and she dragged him aside.

"It had to be him." She insisted. "I know, it's been five months, Quentin but Curtis compared the arrows that were used to take Machin down with those that Prometheus used to carry last year."

"Why  _now_?" Quentin sighed. "You're not thinking that he's come here to cause trouble again…"

"I don't think so." Thea shook her head. "Ollie told me that Tommy did regret everything that he's done, I'm guessing he thinks that doing this is some kind of an atonement for his actions as Prometheus."

Quentin leaned his head on his desk. "We gotta talk to him. I mean…"

"I know, Quentin. Curtis is trying to track him down but look, Tommy's been trained by one of the deadliest assassins that has ever lived." Thea argued.

Quentin sighed. "If this was four years ago, I would have busted his ass into Iron Heights but after everything I've seen… this city does need a hero, yes but… what exactly is Tommy trying to achieve here?" He asked, more to himself than to Thea, who was wondering the same thing.

* * *

_**Later, City Hall** _

Quentin was doing paperwork in his office as his phone rang and he answered. "Mayor Quentin Lance."

" _Quentin, it's Frank. There's a problem; six bodies, one of them was SCPD, the rest of them Halcones, dealer and his girlfriend. They had two coins placed on their eyes._ " Pike said and Quentin felt a pit of dread form in his stomach as the realization dawned onto him.

"Tobias Church…"

" _He's in Star City. If I were you, I'd be careful, Quentin._ " Pike said with a concerned tone.

"Thank you, Frank." Quentin hung up as a moment later, he dialed Thea's number.

* * *

**_Starling General_ **

"Residency in Mexico, Arabia, Chicago… what made you decide to work here with us, Mr. Rhodes?" Dr. Schwartz asked as she read ' _Connor's_ ' CV.

"I spent four years abroad, and honestly, I didn't have a chance to do something useful here in Star City, and I would like to try." Tommy said, wearing coloring contact lenses, fake nose, moustache and a wig.

"We've been on a shortage of employees, after that incident five months ago…" Tommy felt a surge of shame and guilt flooding but burying it quickly. "I think you would be a good helper, Mr. Rhodes. Would you like to start next week?"

"Yes." Tommy nodded. "And part-time, daily shifts, only, if possible. I do have a… busy life." He shook his hands with Dr. Schwartz.

* * *

**_The Lair_ **

"Tobias Church, a.k.a. Charon." Curtis pulled his picture on the screen.

"Ferryman of Hades." Thea pointed out as everyone stared at her. " _What_? I did pay attention at school."

"Arrest warrants for over twenty murders; that the cops  _know_  of." Curtis added.

"Looks like we've got our target number one, Hoss." Rene quipped. "And what about Tommy?"

"No luck so far." Curtis said.

"I called Lyla but she's in Bludhaven with Laurel, Henry and Barbara, didn't tell me much more." Diggle noted. "I think they should know as soon as possible that we might have a lead on Tommy."

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

"Thank you all for coming." Quentin smiled at the reporters as by his side was Thea. "With all that ails our city, I think it's fair to ask why we would spend time and money to honor anyone, why we would commission a statue and have a ceremony to unveil it." He pointed towards the veiled statue as he glanced at it, while Thea looked down in sadness. "Surely, those resources could be put to better ends, but I, for one, think there is no better end than a reminder of what we are capable of when we stand together united, a reminder of those, who have made the ultimate sacrifice, protecting our home, and a reminder that as long we keep their spirit in our hearts, there will always be better days ahead. And as he reminds us, let us always remember him. Ladies and gentlemen, Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow."

The officers unveiled the statue of the Green Arrow as the crowd applauded. Suddenly, riders on bikes ambushed the ceremony, shooting down the policemen and people around as Quentin raised his hands in surrender, while the thugs dragged him into SCPD armored van, alongside with more people as hostages.

* * *

**_Rachel's penthouse_ **

Rachel was watching the ceremony of unveiling the statue of the Green Arrow on TV before picking up her phone.

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

Tommy was walking down the street, unrecognized as he bought a hot dog for himself before he noticed that his phone rang. "Yeah, Rachel? Is everything…" As he heard what she was saying, he quickly gave the vendor a five-dollar bill and ran to an alley.

* * *

_**Five months ago, New Mexico, after the wedding of Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance** _

_Tommy, having grown a beard and longer hair, walked down the road and after a few miles, he entered a small diner, unrecognized as he sat down in a booth and picked the menu, while a waitress approached him._

_"Get you something, sir?"_

_"Grits and eggs, please." Tommy said politely. "And a coffee." As Tommy was enjoying his meal, suddenly, Talia al Ghul showed up in the booth behind him as his blood ran cold. "Why bring me here?"_

_"To test your sense of honor and nobility." Talia said. "You used to be a good person; perhaps there still is."_

_"I'm not that monster anymore." Tommy hissed. "If you want to put me down, go ahead, it's not like I have something worth living for; my best friend is gone, the woman I loved and my sister see me as a monster."_

_"I did not come here to kill you, I am here to show you that there still are things worth living for." Talia said cryptically._

_"What do you mean?" Tommy scowled before looking outside the window some men picking up on a blonde girl as he narrowed his eyes and went outside. "Hey!" He shouted. "Leave her alone!"_

_"You lost?" One of the men taunted. "I'd be happy to show you the way outta town."_

_"Look, guys, we don't need to…" Suddenly, one of the kids punched him in his face and Tommy automatically reacted by throwing one of them away and dodging more attacks coming as the bullies ended up hitting each other and falling down on the ground until a policeman showed up._

_"Hey, break it up!"_

_"Just a small mutual misunderstanding, Detect…"_

_"Save it. It's more like a one-sided misunderstanding to me." The cop sneered. "Get outta here before I decide to bust you again."_

_The harassers ran away as Tommy helped the blonde on her feet with the cop. "Thanks."_

_"You OK, Rachel?" The cop asked._

_"I'm fine, really." Rachel assured him. "If it weren't for him, it could've gone worse."_

_"What's your name?" The cop asked._

_"Tommy." He said automatically, then froze, realizing what he had said, afraid they would recognize him._

_"Thank you, Tommy." Rachel shook her hand with him._

_"I need to see some I.D." The cop asked._

_"I don't have one. Not even a driver's license." Tommy denied. "Someone stole my car recently, had my wallet in there. I went for a toilet and when I came back, it was gone."_

_"I have a motel room nearby." Rachel offered. "I can give you a place to stay for a night. I'm Rachel Gibson, by the way."_

* * *

_"You should take a shower." Rachel scowled as she sniffed him._

_"Sure." Tommy shrugged. Later, as he put on his clothes and went out from the shower, he picked a Gillette, a comb and scissors, shaving his beard and cutting his hair off as he almost looked the same as he used to years ago. Later, he found Rachel already in bed as he approached her, concerned, while she gasped, frightened. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Just wanted to make sure you were OK."_

_"I… I'm fine, really." Rachel assured him before seeing the scars on his arms. "What happened to you?"_

_"It's… it's a long story." Tommy said reluctantly._

_"You've been hurt and betrayed." Rachel said as she saw the look in his eyes. "I can see it in your eyes. You feel guilty about something. And you're ashamed." Tommy took a breath, not saying a thing. "It's OK." She held his hand as he was about to stand up. "I won't judge you."_

_"I…" Tommy quickly rushed out from the room. "I should let you get some sleep."_

* * *

_"Everything you touch, dies…"_

* * *

_"Who do you hate?"_

_"Oliver Queen."_

* * *

_"I wish you would have died on that island…"_

* * *

_"If you can become someone else… something else… you may be free to become Tommy Merlyn…"_

_"Tommy Merlyn is dead…"_

* * *

_"You killed Ollie, Tommy! This is all your fault!"_

* * *

_On instinct, Tommy grabbed Rachel's throat as she tried to wake him up and as he realized that he was choking her, he gasped and let her go, while she looked at him startled._

_"Rachel, I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."_

_Rachel took a deep breath as she massaged her throat, simply staring at him. "You look like you were reliving a hell." Tommy widened his eyes. "I know PTSD when I see it. My ex-husband is an army vet. Look, you don't need to explain yourself to me if you don't want to. But I want to help you, Tommy, OK? I won't judge you, I promise."_

_Tommy stared at her in contemplation as she gently grabbed his hand. He hasn't encountered such kindness since Laurel..._

_Next thing either of them knew, they were nearing their heads to each other and kissing while he unstrapped her bra._

* * *

**_Present, Star City_ **

"Gentlemen and lady, this is not personal." Church said as the abducted people had bags over their heads. "I know it feels personal but it's not. You are all here as a means to an end. I finally figured out a way to make politicians useful."

"You want the vigilantes? Or that new archer?" Quentin asked through the bag before Church ripped it off his head. "You're making a mistake." He sneered. "You have no idea who are you messing with."

"You think I would go through all this trouble without a plan?" Church taunted.

"I have no doubt that you think you're so smart." Quentin chuckled. "But… one thing I've learned; there's always smarter people in the room."

Church put the bag back on Quentin's head. "Take Mr. Lance to a quiet place and teach him some manners."

* * *

"You know, I didn't vote for you." The fake officer sneered as Quentin was zip-tied to a chair.

"Well, in my defense, nobody opposed me." Quentin said dryly before the man slugged him in his face. "You're lucky I have heart condition." The man punched Quentin again as he spat out blood. "You really don't want to do this. Punching me is a mistake."

"What are you gonna do?" The man smiled. "You're zip-cuffed to that chair."

"Oh, I'm not gonna do anything." Quentin sneered as suddenly, an arrow stuck out of the man's shoulder and he fell down, screaming in pain. Quentin was surprised though to see a tall male archer in a black hood, instead of a young female archer in red hood. " _Tommy_?" He whispered. Merlyn approached the fake officer and knocked him out before pulling out a knife and uncuffing Quentin.

"You alright, Mr. Mayor?"

Quentin breathed quickly in shock as he got up. " _You_ … what are you doing here?"

"I want to help. We gotta go." Then they heard a gunshot as Speedy took down a henchman and knocked him out.

" _Tommy_?" Speedy widened her eyes in disbelief.

" _We have a problem, they've booby-trapped the place, we can't get the hostages out!_ " Spartan said over the comms.

" _Working on it._ " Mr. Terrific said.

"I have Quentin, guys." Speedy said, trying to stay calm. "I'm getting him out of here."

* * *

Quentin was quickly taken care of by the medics as Thea and Tommy were on a rooftop, both of them having their hoods off.

"I'll catch you later, guys, there are some creeps taking on some girl in the alley." She lied before turning to her half-brother. "Where have you been, Tommy? It's been five months. We all missed you."

"Really? You missed the assassin I was last year?" Tommy asked sarcastically. "The playboy I used to be? News flash, that's not who I am anymore." He said sadly.

"Tommy…" Thea sighed. "Come home. We miss you. Please."

"Come home to  _what_?" He scoffed. "There's nothing waiting for me."

"I am. Laurel is too." Thea pleaded.

"But Ollie isn't. Or Sara." Tommy said guiltily. "They're both gone… because of me."

"That wasn't your fault, Tommy, Takeo turned you against us." Thea reasoned.

"So, you don't hate me? Or blame me?" Tommy asked as Thea took a breath.

"I know what it's like to be manipulated by a psychopath into killing a friend." She said, guilt pressing on her chest as Tommy looked intrigued. "I…" She looked down in shame. "Two years ago, your… our father found me… and…"

"Trained you, I already knew that." Tommy nodded.

"But he also… drugged me." She took a breath, muffling her sobs. "And I didn't know what I was doing and… I killed Sara." Tommy tensed. "Because of Malcolm… I trusted  _him_ … I let  _him_  into my life… knowing who he was…"

"Thea…" Tommy held her shoulder. "It… that's not on you."

"I know that now." Thea assured him as she grabbed his hand. "Tommy, I love you. You're my brother. Let me help you. Let us all help you."

"You can't." Tommy said sadly as he turned around.

"You don't have to do this alone." Thea pleaded. "I get that you want to honor Ollie but please, we can work this out." Tommy ignored her, walking away. "Please, don't leave us again. Tommy!"

* * *

**_Later, the Lair_ **

"So, he walked away. Again." Roy said as Thea was wiping her tears.

"I wish we could help him somehow."

"I get it, Thea." Diggle assured her. "But honestly, I'm not sure you can help someone, who doesn't want help."

Thea took a breath. "He blames himself, you know. For what had happened back then… that he forced Ollie away… I wish he'd listen. It wasn't all on him."

"I know." Roy hugged Thea before her phone rang.

"Yeah, Quentin?"

" _Thea, could you please get back to the office and help me write a draft? I might have an idea, how to help you guys out. Remember, how we discussed the Anti-Crime Unit?_ "

"I'll be right there."

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

Tobias Church circled around the hostages with a baseball bat before the Anti-Crime Unit burst in, taking down his thugs, causing for him to run away. Merlyn chased Church down and engaged him in close combat as the latter pulled out brass knuckles, fighting Merlyn.

* * *

Spartan, Wild Dog, Arsenal, Speedy and Mr. Terrific showed up, assisting the ACU taking down Church's henchmen but unfortunately, one of the officers accidentally triggered a cordon and activated a bomb.

* * *

" _Merlyn, we have a problem!_ " Rachel yelled. " _The ACU triggered the kill cordon!_ "

"On it!" Merlyn tossed a smoke bomb on the ground, distracting Church and running away as he saw Spartan and his team. "Get the hostages out of here, I'll take care of the cordon!"

Spartan nodded as Wild Dog scowled. "Since when do we take orders from him?"

"Not now!"

* * *

Merlyn approached the bomb but groaned, realizing he ran out of time as he jumped out from the window as the bomb exploded and fired a grapnel arrow towards Church's chopper, while ACU, alongside with the vigilantes accompanied the hostages out as the building exploded.

* * *

"Hey, keep her flying!" Church roared at the pilot before Merlyn climbed up, engaging Church and for a few moments, they both traded blows before Church kicked Merlyn out of the chopper and the archer notched an arrow and fired as from the projectile went out a parachute, while the vigilante safely landed on the ground.

* * *

**_The following morning, City Hall_ **

"Good morning." Quentin stepped up at the press conference, with Thea behind him. "I had intended to state my position on the Anti-Crime initiative during the city's tribute to the Green Arrow but that speech was cut short. These four officers next to me, I have known while I was in the force and they were trainees back then and I knew there was potential in each one of them, which was proven last night, showing me that there are still good men and women in SCPD. Which is why I would like to announce that as of today, I am forming the Anti-Crime Unit, nominating these four officers as the official members, reporting directly to me and by working together, alongside with the vigilantes, who have been protecting this city even after Oliver Queen's death, we will begin the process of saving our city."

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

Tommy, wearing a wig with longer dark hair, colorful lenses and a moustache went out from Big Belly Burger as near his car stood Thea, to his surprise, smiling at him.

"How did you find me?" Tommy asked.

"I knew you would not resist a Big Belly, you never would, since we were kids. I wanted to say ' _thanks_ '. For last night. Dig and I really appreciate it."

Tommy nodded. "You're welcome." He said, reluctantly though.

"Tommy, you don't need to do this alone. Come with us. Please." Thea pleaded.

"I doubt that Diggle or your friends would forgive me for what I did." Tommy said sadly.

"Give them time. Please." Thea begged. "If you want to honor Ollie, then help us save this city."

"I…" Tommy took a breath. "You wouldn't welcome me if you knew what I did."

"It doesn't matter, OK?" Thea pleaded as she held his hand. "Please. Come back."

Tommy stared at her, considering. "I'll… I'll think about it." He walked away as Thea smiled at him, hope shining on her face.

* * *

**_Rachel's penthouse_ **

"You OK?" Rachel asked as Tommy sat down on the couch.

"Had a run-in with Thea."

"Mad or sad?"

"Sad." Tommy said simply. "She wants me to come back… but… I'm not sure I have somewhere to go back to."

"You still blame yourself for…"

"Shouldn't I?"

"I think Oliver would forgive you if he knew you were trying to honor him." She had her arm around his neck as she kissed him. "You're not a monster, Tommy. You saved me. Richard was a monster and you saved my life."

"You're a good friend, Rachel. One of the few I have." Tommy smiled at her as they were again giving into each other, while kissing passionately.

* * *

_**Five months ago, New Mexico** _

_Tommy looked at the photo of Rachel with another man, who was muscular, topless and had dragon tattoos on his body, then another photo, where Rachel and the man were smiling at each other as Rachel went inside the room, shopping bags in her hands._

_"Hey."_

_"You OK?" Tommy asked as he saw the concerned look on her face before someone banged at the door._

_"I'm not done talking with you, Rachel! Open the door!"_

_"Who's that?" Tommy asked._

_"My ex-husband, just ignore him." Rachel said quickly. "He's a douche."_

_"I'm counting to five, if you don't open them, you'll regret it. One, two, three…"_

_Tommy burst out from the apartment and shoved the man, recognizing him from Rachel's photos. "Hey, back off!"_

_"Oh, so you've got a new bodyguard now, huh?" The man sneered._

_"Richard, stop! I told you, I'm done with you!" Rachel exclaimed._

_"You heard her." Tommy growled._

_"Stay away from this, kid." Richard warned._

_"Or what?" Tommy taunted before he got punched in his face hard as he fell down._

_"Jesus, Richard, that's enough!" Rachel yelled. Tommy roared and punched the man in his chin as they started to trade blows, while Tommy was showing restraint and limiting his close combat skills in order to not to blow his cover and he was able to stand his own but decided to hold back, letting Richard deliver a hard blow to his face as he fell down. "Richard, stop!"_

_The sirens were blaring in the distance as Richard stopped and snorted. "You're lucky, kid. But if I were you, I'd stay away from her, she'll bring nothing more than trouble to you." He walked away as Rachel helped Tommy on his feet, seeing the bruise on his face._

_"You shouldn't have done that, Tommy, he's very dangerous."_

_"And let you, lady, in trouble? I've had to handle dangerous jackasses before." Tommy teased as Rachel smiled._

_"Look, I appreciate what you were trying to do but he's very dangerous. Please, just stay away from this next time, OK? I can handle it." Rachel assured him as Tommy nodded, not convinced though as she kissed him apologetically._

* * *

_**Present, elsewhere in Star City** _

"Boss, Jin Fung and McGowan are dead." A gangster said as Tobias Church was sitting in his office.

"I didn't order to take them out." Church scowled, confused.

"I know. Some dude with dragon tattoos killed them with his bare hands, according to witnesses."

" _Dragon tattoos_?" Church repeated.

* * *

"What do you want?" A mob boss choked out as the man, wearing a tank top, with a dragon tattoo on his shoulder grabbed him by his throat.

"My name is Richard… Richard Dragon. Chinatown is already mine. Soon enough, your waterfront is going to be mine too, since I need it. I've come for everything." Dragon threw the mob boss off the window as he screamed while falling down. "I've come to take Star City."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do  you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far.


	3. Ragman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and Team Arrow need to deal with a mysterious ragman as in flashbacks Tommy gets to know Rachel better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note and Disclaimer:
> 
> This version of Ragman will be slightly different, since Havenrock wasn't blown up in here.
> 
> I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.
> 
> Hope you have fun
> 
> With regards
> 
> Bl4ckHunter

**_Museum_ **

Thea was in the museum at the exhibition of Devarim scrolls with Roy, who smiled at her.

"This is interesting, is it?" Thea smiled, while Roy shrugged.

"I don't know what's so interesting about some ancient pieces of paper." He said as he was looking at the glass case. "Why couldn't our date be in a cinema?" Thea giggled at Roy's humor.

Suddenly, they heard people screaming as some gangsters burst in, shooting with their guns and Thea and Roy knelt down, watching as the thieves snatched the scroll from the glass case.

* * *

**_The Lair_ **

"Who stole them?" Diggle asked as Curtis was at the computer.

"Hired muscle, low profile." Curtis said as he looked at the footage. Then, he scowled. "Wait, they were apprehended an hour ago."

"How?" Thea asked.

Curtis pulled out another footage as he saw the van being attacked by a hooded figure with long rags, who vanished later as he looked inside the van.

"What the hell was that?" Rene asked, disbelieved. "A meta?"

"I don't know but we need to find out what's going on before… whatever the hell that thing is makes things worse." Diggle ordered.

* * *

_**Starling General** _

"Doctor Rhodes." A woman, around 30 years old shook her hands with Tommy. "I'm Dr. Kate Harris. Welcome to Starling General."

"Thank you." Tommy smiled. "It's my first day here, actually. Honestly, I haven't worked in emergency before, I've had one patient at the time."

"It's gonna be easy, Rhodes." Kate assured him.

* * *

As Tommy put on his coat and started his first shift, the medics dragged into the emergency room a man, who was bruised and was bleeding from his hip.

"Blood loss, several internal injuries, severed injuries." The medic summed up.

"Put him on monitor and rapid transfuser." Kate ordered. "Four units of O-negative, hit him with epinephrine."

"Tried epi already, Kate; still no pulse." The medic said. "He's fibrillating."

"Damn it." Kate hissed. "Rhodes, I'll need your help."

Tommy nodded as he put on the gloves and the medical tools, rubbing some gel on the man's stomach before sticking in a syringe repeatedly.

"Kate, he's a patient, not a pincushion." The medic protested.

"I can't find the vein because there's too much blood." She groaned.

"Let me do it." Tommy said as he gently grabbed her syringe and helped her stick the needle in the vein.

"OK. Thanks." Kate nodded before the heart monitor flatlined. "Oh, no. Shock to 120!"

"Clear!" The medics put shock pads on the patient's chest as jolt of electricity surged through him. "No pulse!"

"Again! Hit 200!"

"Clear!"

Another jolt of electricity surged as the patient's heart was beating. "We have him back." Kate sighed before turning to Tommy. "Thanks, Rhodes."

Tommy nodded. "He needs BP and more blood."

Kate nodded in agreement. "Get that boy to ER ASAP."

* * *

"Not bad for a first patient, Rhodes." Kate smiled at Tommy, while drinking coffee. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

"I'm trying to help. Is every day like this?" Tommy asked.

"It can be quite busy." Kate nodded before an ambulance rushed in a man, who had rags wrapped around his throat. "What happened?"

"Some homeless kid tried to choke him to death with rags." The paramedic said as Tommy tensed.

* * *

**_Five months ago, New Mexico_ **

_Tommy was doing push-ups in the room as Rachel entered the room._

_"Hey." He stood up._

_"Hi, Tommy." Rachel smiled._

_"So, everything OK between you and your ex?"_

_"I hope." Rachel sighed. "I told Sheriff Tanner that he's back and he'll keep an eye out."_

_"If that jerk shows up again, I'll kick his ass." Tommy chuckled._

_"Yeah." Rachel nodded as she put her coat on a hook and turned on the TV, where was the news report of the reveal of Oliver Queen as the Green Arrow as she noticed the look on Tommy's face. "You OK, Tommy?"_

_"Yeah…" Tommy sighed. "I will be."_

_Rachel took a breath. "Actually, there was something I was gonna ask you about. I have some friends in hospital in Santa Fe. I used to work there as a doctor, you know?" She pulled out a small plastic bag with a sample of hair. "They let me run a DNA test back in town. Why didn't you tell me that you're Tommy Merlyn? I thought you died four years ago."_

_Tommy tensed and then, eventually sighed. "It's… it's a long story. And… you probably wouldn't believe me."_

_"Try me."_

* * *

_"Did you say 'League of Assassins'?" Rachel interrupted Tommy as he was telling his story._

_"You heard about them?" Tommy scowled._

_Rachel nodded quickly. "That's why I didn't want you to get involved the other day with Richard. He killed one of their people years ago and was on the run from them. The reason I divorced him was because, no matter what, he just could not stop fighting. And he blamed Ra's al Ghul for destroying our marriage. He was out of his mind." She wiped her face. "I guess that explains how you were able to hold your own against those creeps the other day. And I thought that the Lazarus pit can't bring back the dead…"_

_"It can but… there are some side effects." Tommy admitted. "I've recovered from them, though."_

_"When I heard that Ra's al Ghul had been killed, then Richard wanted to come back to how things were but…" Rachel sighed. "He wasn't who I remembered. He had changed… into something I didn't even recognize anymore. So I left. He's been very persistent since then. I've been avoiding him almost a year."_

_"I won't let him hurt you, I promise." Tommy assured her. Rachel nodded as she asked him to continue his story._

* * *

**_Present, Star City_ **

Roy was walking down the street before he saw a car driving down and his instincts turned on as he followed the car from the rooftops before seeing it park in an alley and narrowed his eyes to see a red-haired woman coming out and talking with Tobias Church.

"Do you have what I asked for?" The woman asked.

"Some kid with magical rags tried to snatch our item; there've been some small problems lately." Church said annoyed.

"I may have to reconsider my investment, Mr. Church."

"Miss Graves… I promise you, this is just a temporary setback."

Roy's blood ran cold as he ran away.

* * *

**_The Lair_ **

" _Mercy Graves_?" Diggle repeated. "In Star City?"

"Working with Tobias Church." Roy nodded.

"Oh, God, no…" Thea groaned.

"Who's Mercy Graves?" Rene asked as Diggle turned to him.

"An information broker and a headhunter. A friend of ours has had some not-so-friendly run-ins with her in the past."

Thea nodded. "Last year, she leveraged Henry into stealing Rubicon by threatening to leak our identities to Damien Darhk. A mutual friend of ours had sent her packing but I'm guessing she's back."

"What exactly was our ragman after?" Diggle asked.

"Ancient scroll from time of Devarim." Curtis said as he approached the computer. "It's kinda iffy though what exactly that scroll is, I need time to decipher it but on black market, some people would pay hundreds of millions to get their hands on it."

"That van that the ragman attacked was already empty." Roy remembered.

"Which means he'll show up again." Thea realized.

* * *

Diggle called Lyla as a moment later, he hung up. "We have a problem; a big one. Remember when Barbara disabled that nuke, when Genesis happened?" Thea, Roy and Curtis nodded, while Rene scowled. "According to latest intel from A.R.G.U.S., Mercy got her hands on it and also, she's been collecting ancient artifacts lately."

"Let me guess, she wants to trade that nuke for the artifact with Church." Roy realized.

"We need to stop that trade before it happens." Thea decided.

"Yeah but we also gotta find our bogeyman before he makes things worse." Curtis said.

* * *

**_Starling General_ **

"What kind of rag is that?" Kate scowled as she examined the rag under the microscope.

"What is it?" Tommy asked.

"Rhodes, what are you doing here?" Kate looked up.

"My shift's ending. I wanted to get here some blood samples before I leave." Tommy put the vials in the fridge. "There's something off about that rag, it has faint traces of some radioactive isotope…"

Tommy looked intrigued. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know." Then, her pager bleeped. "Damn it." She left the lab as Tommy ripped a piece of the rag and left.

* * *

**_Rachel's penthouse_ **

"Jesus…" Rachel whispered upon examining the rag, wearing a nightie. "That radioactive isotope is not normal, the rag should have turned to dust like a hundreds of years ago. But I think I might be able to track our ragboy."

"Where is he?" Tommy asked as Rachel turned to the laptop and a moment later, a map of Star City showed the traces of isotope and a possible location. Tommy smiled and kissed Rachel as he was leaving.

"Kick some ass, honey."

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

"Did you bring the item?" Mercy asked.

"Do you have the merchandise?" Church smiled.

"I am a man of my word, Mr. Church." Mercy smirked as her henchmen were carrying a small warhead and one of them gave her a laptop and she authorized a wire transfer. "As we agreed, an intact nuke from Havenrock plus one hundred million dollars."

Church handed her a briefcase with the scroll, when suddenly, one of the guards screamed as some rags tossed him across the hall, while the rest of the guards were shooting around, only to be dragged into the shadows by the rags as Mercy panicked and ran away with the briefcase before the rag man showed up from the shadows, cornering her.

" _Hello, Mercy._ " Mercy gasped and backed off. " _You remember Gerry Regan? You tried to buy the scroll of Devarim from him months ago in his Rags'n'Tatters shop_." Ragman hissed as she looked horrified.

"What… what are you…"

" _He refused… and he sent you away… and the following week, three men entered, stealing the scroll and leaving Gerry to bleed to death on the floor and a teenage boy abandoned… an orphan… desperate…_ "

"I…"

" _Your days of greed are over…_ " He wrapped his rags around her throat as Mercy screamed.

* * *

Merlyn showed up from the shadows, firing at the thugs before Spartan, Speedy, Arsenal, Mr. Terrific and Wild Dog showed up, engaging them as well as Merlyn decided to engage Tobias Church, who pulled out his brass knuckles and his muscular, large stature made him a difficult opponent for Merlyn, who got knocked on the ground and Church was about to stab him with his own arrow before Spartan tackled him to the ground and Speedy approached Ragman.

"Let her go!"

" _Stay out of my way!_ "

"She's not worth it." Speedy reasoned as Ragman let Mercy go, while Mr. Terrific apprehended her. "It's over."

Arsenal tried to engage Church in close combat but because he was taller and stronger, Arsenal was taken down quickly and Church was about to finish him off, Ragman tossed him away as he got up and entered his car. Speedy and Wild Dog fired at the tires but they missed.

* * *

Spartan, Arsenal and Merlyn were on a rooftop as they looked at each other.

"Thanks." Merlyn told them.

"Your welcome." Spartan shook his hand with him.

" _Your offer sounded intriguing._ " Ragman said as he showed up.

"Why did you give up your vengeance to save me?" Arsenal asked.

" _I don't know._ " Ragman said before taking his hood and mask off, revealing the face of a young boy around Roy's age. "I think that's what my father would have wanted me to do."

"What did Mercy do to him?" Speedy asked. "A friend of ours was wronged by her too. She offered him a dangerous job… and because of that, he lost his daughter. I'm guessing something similar happened to you."

The boy nodded. "Last year, Mercy… wanted to buy the scroll from my father but he had already handed it over to someone else… he never told her to who… so… she killed him… as I watched… in the backroom. Bleeding to death on the floor of his own shop… then he showed me the rags… said that they'd make me strong… that they'd help me not to be hurt like he was. Said that they were from the time of Devarim and the scroll would help me understand its power… wanted me… to make things right… I didn't know what he was talking about…"

"Until you did what you did." Spartan realized.

"You see why I have to avenge him." The boy whispered.

"Your father wouldn't have wanted you to become a killer." Merlyn said.

"You don't know that." The boy retorted.

"My father gave up his own life to save my brother." Speedy spoke up. "He wanted him to come back home and right his wrongs… and I've been trying to help him… but I feel like I'm not making any difference. And it's been… five months since then."

"Oliver Queen was my best friend." Merlyn added. "I vowed to follow in his crusade and help save this city… because all my life, I've been thinking about myself and gave a little consideration to feelings of others and I've been trying to be better… but so far I failed… but I don't want to fail anymore. I believe that together, we can save this city. And I think that you want to be better than you were too. So, what do you think?"

The boy nodded, shaking his hands with Speedy, Spartan and Merlyn. "My name is Rory. Rory Reagan."

"John Diggle."

"Thea Queen."

"Tommy Merlyn."

* * *

_**Five months ago, New Mexico** _

_Rachel held Tommy's hand as he finished the story by mentioning him watching Oliver's and Laurel's wedding. "You're not a monster, Tommy."_

_Tommy wiped his tears. "Am I not? I've killed…"_

_"You were wronged and manipulated, none of that is your fault. Don't blame yourself." Rachel reasoned._

_"I'm trying… but… I don't know if I can be better than that. If I could take back everything I had done, I would." Tommy sighed._

_"You can't change what you did… but you can make up for that by trying to be better. By figuring out a way to honor Oliver." Rachel said._

_"How?"_

_"For starters - Don't think just about yourself." Rachel suggested. "Think about people around you, the ones close to you."_

_Tommy smiled at her kindness, Rachel suddenly reminding him of Laurel as she was kissing him slowly again, while he lifted her top._

* * *

_In Sheriff's office, a policeman compared a sketch of Tommy against FBI database as he got a match._

_"We might need to talk with the new guest in town."_

* * *

_Richard observed Rachel and Tommy making out in hotel with his goggles as he sneered. "Let's see how can you deal with a horseman of the Demon… Magician."_

* * *

**_Present, Rachel's penthouse_ **

"So, this is where you live." Thea quipped.

"It belongs to my girlfriend, actually." Tommy said as Thea giggled.

"I thought that you had your eyes only for Laurel." She quipped as she saw a photo of Tommy and Rachel near a valley in the desert on the desk.

"People change, Speedy." Tommy chuckled. "And… I've moved on… long time ago."

"Thank you, Tommy." Thea said. "For the other day. I think Ollie and Laurel would be proud of you, if they could see you. Maybe you could join us."

Tommy laughed. "No offense, Thea but I'm not a team player. I work better alone. But if you need me, I'll be there. I hope you can do the same for me."

Thea nodded. " _Partners_?" She offered her hand.

"Partners." Tommy nodded as he shook his hand with her. "And my shift starts." His pager beeped.

"You're a doctor?" Thea asked, impressed as she saw the white coat.

"Had enough time to study."

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

Tobias Church was inside XLR8 club in his private booth with his female company as his henchman entered. "Boss, someone wants to make an offer for you."

A tall muscular man entered, alongside with a woman in red jacket, wearing wrist guns, similar to the ones Floyd Lawton carries, a man with a breathing mask and a flamethrower and an Asian woman with stark white hair.

"China White. Aren't you supposed to be in jail?" Church smirked.

"Thanks to my associate, I am not." She turned to the muscular man.

"Tobias Church. My name is Richard Dragon. I have heard that you've been having a problem with some certain vigilantes. I can help you with that. Under one condition."

"Which is?" Church asked.

"Merlyn is mine. I have some unfinished business with him." Dragon said, the message obvious. "Once he's down, we can all run this city. Fair and square."

"Deal." Church nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far.


	4. Stardust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rene's reckless attempt to prove himself blows up in his face as Tommy and Team Arrow need to face a new, powerful enemy.

Carl Roberto was running on the rooftop before an arrow hitting the ground caused for him to fall down and he pulled out a gun, only for Speedy to fire a rope arrow and hang Carl over the pipe.

* * *

"Remember, always assume that our target has a gun." Arsenal said as Ragman, Wild Dog and Mr. Terrific observed from a nearby rooftop.

"Next one is mine." Wild Dog said, excited.

* * *

"Stardust!" Spartan snarled as he punched Carl, shoving him a few feet away. "Give us your supplier!"

"I can't, he'll kill me!" Carl wailed.

"You should be more afraid about what we'll do!" Speedy slugged him and shoved him away again as Carl groaned.

"You're not gonna do it." Carl mocked.

"Give us a reason not to." Spartan growled.

"Word's out on you, guys." Carl mocked. "You'll kill, but only when you have to." Spartan sneered and shoved him as Carl panicked, when he had no ground beneath his feet. "Son of a bitch!"

"Don't worry, you'll make it." Spartan said as he and Speedy were about to walk away.

"Alright! His name's Sampson! Derek Sampson!"

Spartan whirled on Carl. "Sampson was arrested three weeks ago!"

"Out on bail. Not sufficient proof." Carl explained.

"Where is he?!" Speedy roared.

"I don't know, I pick up a package on a different corner each night, and never from him."

"Give us the package." Spartan hissed.

"Stardust? It's in my pocket." Carl said as Speedy snatched the drug and turned around. "Good idea. You really could use a high, chill out a bit."

Speedy felt her blood boil at someone suggesting to her to use drugs as she whirled around. "I hope you'll be able to walk away from this." She fired an arrow, hitting Carl in the leg as he screamed out in pain.

* * *

_**The Lair** _

"The lesson here is that information is our currency, guys." Diggle said before turning to Curtis. "I need you to analyze Stardust and find out where are they making it. Then we can figure out our next move. As for you two…" He looked at Rene and Rory. "For now, you're done."

"Boss, with all due respect, the stuff about forensics and science is cool but that stuff takes time." Rene protested. "I know the neighborhood where this dealer's slinging out of. I think I can guess where Stardust is being made."

"Maybes and guesswork are not gonna cut it in our line of work, Rene." Diggle disagreed. "For now, you and Rory are gonna train with Thea and Roy. Once Curtis is done, we'll act."

"How the hell did Derek Sampson get out of jail?" Roy groaned.

"I called Quentin, he says that being apprehended by a vigilante is not exactly an apprehending anymore since Ollie's been outed." Thea explained.

* * *

**_Later_ **

Rene snuck and observed as Derek Sampson was watching Sampson overseeing the manufacturing of Stardust before taking on his hockey mask and jumping down, firing and taking down Sampson's henchmen, while Sampson pulled out his gun and engaged in shootout with Wild Dog before climbing on the ladder, while Wild Dog shot down more of his henchmen and climbed up, chasing Sampson down, who grabbed Wild Dog's gun and aimed it at the pipe above them, from which burst out a liquid down on a vat of chemicals, turning the purple liquid into a blue one as Sampson knocked Wild Dog on the ground and engaged him in hand-to-hand combat, his strength overpowering the vigilante quickly as he pummeled him in his face but Wild Dog kicked him in the crotch and tossed him over the ledge as Sampson fell into the vat of blue chemical below them.

* * *

_**The following day, City Hall** _

Thea entered Quentin's office as District Attorney was walking down the hall, anger all over her face as Thea looked confused as she entered Quentin's office. "Why did the D.A. look like she was gonna burn a hole into the wall with her eyes?"

"That what I wanted to talk with you about. You heard about Derek Sampson?" Quentin asked.

"Yeah, the dealer of Stardust, that new drug in the streets." Thea nodded.

"The D.A.'s office was building a case against him, they were planning to flip Sampson but last night, somebody killed him." Quentin explained.

"Rival dealer?" Thea inquired.

"A vigilante." Quentin corrected. "According to witnesses, it was a man wearing a hockey mask, who shot the place up."

"Rene." Thea realized, her blood boiling.

* * *

**_The Lair_ **

Diggle picked up his phone as Thea called. "Yeah, Thea, is everything… wait, what? Are you sure?" He took a breath. "OK. Thanks." He turned around and whirled at Rene and the phrase ' _if looks could kill_ ' came to mind.

"Everything OK, boss?" Rene asked.

"Last night, a Stardust dealer was murdered by a vigilante." Diggle growled.

"Lots of those running around in this city these days…"

"Wearing a hockey mask!" Diggle roared. "What were you thinking, Rene?!"

"Hey, you weren't there, man!" Rene protested. "This guy was all sorts of nutso loco, it was either him or me!"

"You  _never_  should have been in that position." Diggle snarled.

"So, you're saying that this city isn't better off without one less dealer off the streets?" Rene shot back.

"Rene, you have no ability to think big picture!" Diggle snapped. "The D.A.'s office planned to make Sampson give up the suppliers but because of you, they can't do that anymore! I was willing to give you a chance but because of things like these, I needed you to stay back! You're reckless, you're impulsive and you're not able to think long-term and you're wondering, why I didn't want you to go out there?!"

Rene stood there frozen, realizing Diggle's point.

* * *

**_Five months ago, New Mexico_ **

_Tommy was taking a walk in the desert outside the town as suddenly, he saw the freshly buried area of sand as he started digging and found a fresh corpse of a man, seeing the police badge as he groaned from smelling the stench and as he saw a cruiser, he waved his hand. "Police! Over here!" But the cruiser was driving right at him, about to run him down and on instinct, Tommy jumped over the car as the car skidded and the officers went out from the car._

_"Freeze, Merlyn!"_

_They saw a piece of cloth and groaned. "It's just his kit bag."_

_"Look, we don't need some cockroaches back from the dead snooping around, we should put him down."_

_"You think he's like Queen?"_

_"Nah, I doubt it. If he was, he would've taken us out by now, I think he just ran for it, can't have gotten far. I don't think he'll stir up trouble for us."_

_Suddenly, Tommy snuck up from behind them, knocking them both out quickly._

* * *

_Tommy let the policemen in the cruiser, hanging on a crane on the edge of a valley as both of them woke up, hearing panging sounds. "You hear that sound?" Tommy asked as he was hanging on the rope. "That's the sound of a cable, capable of holding up to five tons, well, what's left of that cable, snapping and breaking up. You've got about ninety seconds."_

_"You…" The officers panicked. "You're crazy!"_

_"What the hell do you want?!"_

_"Why did you try to kill me?" Tommy snarled._

_One of the officers paled. "We… we're police officers, we didn't try to kill anyone. You attacked us…"_

_"Did I attack those officers buried in the quarry too?" Tommy demanded. "Or is there another reason they're wearing police uniforms?"_

_"Look, you're in enough trouble, Merlyn!" The other officer snarled. "That's right, we know, who you are! Word is that you were there, when Oliver Queen was exposed, someone supposedly dead. The feds will be on your ass soon enough! You better let us go before something happens that you won't just walk away from."_

_Tommy stared at him, considering before grabbing both of the men and pulling them up, then knocking them out._

* * *

_**Present, Starling General** _

"Thanks for the help, Rhodes." Kate smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." Tommy said as he was going downstairs, when a few moments later, he heard gunshots.

* * *

"Where the hell are the cops?! We need backup!" A guard yelled as Sampson, with paler skin and veins showing, beat another guard to death and was unfazed by the bullets before Merlyn, wearing his black hood and weapons showed up.

"Get out of here." He ordered as the guards ran away.

" _You_!" Sampson glared at Merlyn.

"Derek Sampson, you have failed this city!" Merlyn snarled as he fired an arrow, shooting Sampson in his shoulder and pinning him to the wall. However, he was shocked when Sampson was unfazed by the projectile in his shoulder as he moved forward and Merlyn engaged him but Sampson threw him to a wall, hitting a switch as vapor sprinklers on the ceiling turned on. Sampson's enhanced strength gave him a huge advantage against the vigilante, who threw the shuriken towards another switch as sparks went off, surprising Sampson as Merlyn slugged him in the stomach, causing for Sampson to groan and Merlyn ran away.

* * *

Arsenal and Spartan were going upstairs before seeing Merlyn groaning and collapsing as they held him. "You OK?"

" _We need… need… to… get… out of here…_ "

* * *

**_Later, the Lair_ **

Thea grinned upon seeing Tommy's scars as Diggle bandaged him. "Jesus, did this happen when you trained?"

"Yeah." Tommy nodded as he put on his shirt. "Sampson's now stronger and I don't think he can feel pain. I shot him with an arrow but it did nothing. He just walked it off. From what I could gather from the autopsy report, the chemicals he was exposed to must have put him into dead-like state that fooled the medics when they found the body."

"What, he's a zombie or something?" Rene asked incredulously

"I don't believe in zombies." Diggle growled before glaring at Rene. "None of this would have happened if you weren't reckless!"

"I'm sorry, OK?" Rene said quickly.

"Sorry is not enough, you want to make it right, you'll help us fix this mess." Diggle ordered. "Curtis, try to figure out if we can reverse whatever the hell happened to Sampson before he hurts more people. Roy, Rory, Rene, hit the streets if Sampson shows up and  _this time_ , do not engage alone. Thea, go back to the City Hall, if there's a word from the D.A.. You should take a rest, Merlyn." He turned to Tommy.

* * *

"I expected you to be still pissed at me." Tommy shrugged as he was drinking water.

"Yeah. I was. For a long time." Diggle admitted. "But Oliver did screw up too, last year. When he infiltrated the League of Assassins, he kidnapped my wife and left our kid alone. For five months, I was pissed… and it took me a long time to realize that he was doing the only right thing he could in a bad situation. You and him are not dissimilar, Merlyn. You were manipulated and wronged undeservedly and you didn't know who to take it out on. It takes a while to find some clarity."

"I forced Oliver away." Tommy whispered. "I hurt you guys so many times… why don't you hate me?"

"I can't hate someone you're not anymore. I know you're trying to be better." Diggle assured him. "You've got that look Oliver has, when he feels like he screwed everything up. You need to try to forgive yourself."

"I'm not sure if I can, Dig." Tommy admitted.

"Then try to make things better for others, not for yourself. That's the least you can do. If you will keep on fighting the good fight, one day you might find it in you to forgive yourself." Diggle suggested as Tommy considered. "It's what Laurel and Oliver would want too."

"Where are they anyway?"

"Laurel's with Henry and some friends of ours on a mission." Diggle explained. "Oliver… god know  _where_  or  _when_  is he with Sara."

"You haven't told them I'm back?" Tommy asked.

"Honestly, I didn't get the chance." Diggle admitted.

"You think they would be happy to see me? Even after what I've done?"

"We all screw up sometimes. What matters is how you make up for it."

* * *

**_Rachel's penthouse_ **

"Jesus, what the hell happened to you now?" Rachel wailed upon seeing the bruises on Tommy's body. "You keep finding new ways of giving me a heart attack."

"Not my choice." Tommy said jokingly as he hissed while he put on his shirt. "It was Derek Sampson. We need to find him."

"How did Thea take you being back?" Rachel asked.

"Better than I had thought." He kissed her. "But the current problem is Derek Sampson; short version, now he's a super strong zombie."

"I read the autopsy report." Rachel nodded. "I'll look if there's anything unusual in the city." She approached her laptop. "A break-in in Allman Industrial."

* * *

_**The Lair** _

Thea's phone rang as she picked it. "It's Tommy. I gave him my number just in case." She answered the call and turned on the speaker. "Yeah?"

" _Sampson just stole from Allman Industrial something called a Molecular Transmodality Processor._ "

"A  _what_?" Diggle repeated.

"Basically, it can replicate the chemicals based on their molecular structure." Curtis explained. "But I don't see what could Sampson want with it unless…"

"That vat that you dropped him in." Diggle remembered, looking at Rene.

"It was full of Stardust." Rene nodded. "When we were fighting, a pipe burst and some liquid drained from it into a vat."

"Sounds like he found a recipe on making superhuman killing machines." Rory noted.

"Jesus, if he's gonna have an army of men just like him, it's gonna be worse than with Slade and his Mirakuru soldiers." Roy groaned.

" _He'll need that machine to create more of people just as strong as he is, which means he'll head back to where he was making Stardust._ " Tommy deduced. " _If we're gonna take him down, we need to do it together, guys._ "

"Got it. We'll meet you there." Thea said as she hung up.

"I don't trust him." Rene growled.

"And are we supposed to trust you after that stunt you did?" Diggle glared at Rene, who winced. "I'm giving you one last chance to make this right. Don't mess it up."

* * *

**_Five months ago, New Mexico_ **

_A truck stopped as Tommy was standing on the road as the driver went out, aiming his shotgun at him. "Look, don't go into the town. The cops want to hijack your shipment! I saw the schedule in their car!"_

_The driver lowered his shotgun. "I never trusted those dweebs there anyway."_

_"What are you carrying that's so valuable, anyway?" Tommy asked as the driver opened the container._

_"Guns. DEA, ATF… seized from the gangbangers, dealers, whatnot… we take them off the street to be decommissioned and melt down for scrap." Then, he hit Tommy in the face with the butt of his shotgun, knocking him out. "At least according to the paperwork."_

* * *

_The truck drove into a warehouse as a man was awaiting the driver. "How is it going?"_

_"Enough firepower to take the whole town."_

_"Heroin in exchange for guns. Good trade, don't you think?" The gangster smirked. "You're late, by the way."_

_"Yeah, I ran into some stranger showing on the road, ranting about warning me to stay away from here. I guess he's onto you." The driver said. "He's cuffed in the truck."_

_The gangster widened his eyes. "You locked him… in a truck… full of **guns**?!" He snarled, glaring at the driver, like if he was looking at an idiot, when suddenly, gunshots went off from the container, shooting nonfatally some of the thugs._

_"Take cover, damn it!" The leader yelled as he hid behind a drawer. "Moment Merlyn sticks his head out, kill him!"_

_Tommy shot a circle through the container wall as he burst out._

* * *

**_Present_ **

Merlyn shot down the thugs as Sampson looked up and the archer fired a grapnel arrow at his shoulder, yanking on it, lifting Sampson in the air as he jumped down and slammed him to the ground before Sampson kicked him back, pulling the arrow out of his shoulder.

"Ready for round three?" Sampson sneered.

Merlyn put his sword and bow on the table with a bang as Sampson put his jacket down. "Let's dance, bozo." Merlyn rushed at Sampson, engaging him in close combat.

* * *

Mr. Terrific was putting on some device on a vat before a gangster shot the device off his hands as Mr. Terrific chuckled, while Wild Dog grabbed the device, shooting down the gangsters in the process.

"Why are you smiling, dirtbag?" The gangster demanded before Ragman showed up and yanked him to a wall, knocking him out.

* * *

Merlyn and Sampson were trading blows but Sampson's enhanced strength and inability to feel pain made him an even opponent for Merlyn's superior hand-to-hand combat skills.

* * *

Wild Dog was running down the factory, shooting down the gangsters before throwing the device towards Speedy, while Spartan and Arsenal were covering them and Speedy handed Mr. Terrific the device.

* * *

Sampson grabbed Merlyn and put him on his feet, about to deliver a fierce strike but Merlyn blocked and kicked him in the leg, causing for Sampson to kneel down as Merlyn grabbed him by his arm and flipped him on the floor, yanking his arm as bones cracked.

"I thought we've been over this! You can't hurt me!"

Merlyn pulled out a knife and cut Sampson on his arm as both of them got up on their feet and Sampson threw a punch but Merlyn dodged and grabbed him by his other arm, again cutting him in the same place before stabbing him above his heels as Sampson knelt down. He tried to stand up but again fell down, no matter how hard he tried.

"Just because you can't feel your tendons being sliced, doesn't mean you don't need them!" Merlyn snarled.

"Too bad my friends still have you surrounded." Sampson mocked.

"No. I trust that my friends took care of them." Merlyn shot back.

And right on cue, Spartan, Speedy, Arsenal, Mr. Terrific, Ragman and Wild Dog walked down the factory as the equipment blew up.

* * *

**_Later, the Lair_ **

"Tommy… thank you." Diggle shook his hand with Tommy. "I admit, I was reluctant to work with you but… I think tonight has earned your trust. You were Oliver's friend once. I hope the day will come when I can call you my friend too."

Tommy nodded. "I'll try, Dig. But, don't expect that I'll want a case with a mannequin for me here too." He glanced towards the costumes as Thea and Roy laughed.

* * *

_**Five months ago, New Mexico** _

_Tommy took cover behind a dumpster before climbing on a drawer and throwing down a bag full of sand as it burst into the air, causing for the thugs to cough out as Tommy jumped down and knocked some of them out but realizing he was outnumbered, he ran into the van and drove away as two cars were chasing him down._

_Then, suddenly, in the middle of the road showed up Richard as Tommy stopped, alongside with the two cars chasing him down. Tommy went out as Richard smiled._

_"Thomas Merlyn. Aren't you supposed to be dead?"_

_"How do you know who I am?" Tommy glared._

_"You and I have the same teacher. The Demon's Head."_

_Tommy's blood boiled. "I was never one of them."_

_"Maybe not. But it doesn't matter; you're a man without purpose. Just like I was, once upon a time. Because Ra's expelled me and your father turned me down when I wanted back. But thanks to you, he's dead." He cleared his throat. "But to the matter, I want my weapons. Stay out of this business and from Rachel and we can consider this whole affair forgotten."_

_He narrowed his eyes. "I can see the guilt in your eyes. I know everything about you. You'll never make up for what you've done, Tommy. You wear your guilt like a mask. To hide from the world. You cannot escape the judgement of your own conscience, I can see it in your eyes. After what you've done… what you've caused to be done. You want to die. You wish you had stayed dead."_

_"No." Tommy snarled. "Shut up. I'm not that person anymore."_

_"You almost killed the woman you once loved… your sister… your best friend… all because of misguided revenge…"_

_"Don't you dare pretend to know who I am. That's not who I am anymore!" Tommy roared as he attacked Dragon but he grabbed him by his hand and knocked him down on the ground before one of the cars exploded and the gangsters ran away and Dragon sat on his bike and drove away. Tommy groaned as he saw a figure in brown leather jacket and a red hood on the road._

* * *

_**Present, Rachel's penthouse** _

Rachel and Tommy were watching TV before they saw a report on John King's benefit on a blimp in Seattle the next week. "I won an invite there. You want to head to Seattle next week?" She turned to Tommy, who smiled.

"I guess a change of scenery will not hurt."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, it will hurt for Tommy. To fill in the blanks, read my other story, Birds of Prey. The next chapter will be occuring in between after what had happened to Tommy in Seattle and before Invasion! crossover.
> 
> So, what do  you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far


	5. Rise of the Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy's past comes back to haunt him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  I do not own  DC Comics  or the CW TV shows  Arrow ,  The Flash ,  Legends of Tomorrow  or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises

_**Rachel's penthouse** _

"Nice place." Laurel smiled, impressed as Tommy let her in.

"Thanks." Tommy smiled back as Rachel got up from the couch. "Hey, I gotta introduce you. Rachel, this is Laurel Lance; Laurel, my girlfriend, Rachel Gibson."

"Nice to meet you." Rachel shook her hand with Laurel. "Tommy talks a lot about you."

"Likewise." Laurel smiled back.

"How's your friend Henry doing?" Tommy asked. "I heard about what happened."

"His leg's messed up but he's recovering quickly." Laurel assured him. "Thank you for helping us. Ollie would be proud of you."

"You really think so?" Tommy asked.

"I know it." Laurel said firmly.

* * *

**_City Hall_ **

"Wait, Tobias Church stole a computer chip? That's not exactly his style." Quentin noted, confused.

"Maybe… the question is what is he up to?" Thea wondered. "Last night's bust was easier than it seemed. I don't like it."

* * *

**_SCPD_ **

"I need to see you physically deposit the item." Detective Billy Malone told the other officer.

"I've been on this job fifteen years, never lost a piece of evidence!" The officer protested.

"I'm just following orders." Billy said calmly.

Grumbling, the officer led Billy into lockup. Putting it on a box along the back wall, he looked back at Billy with an annoyed look.

"Satisfied?" He snapped.

The case soon started humming as the officer looked back in confusion. Realizing what was happening, Billy grabbed his fellow officer and dragged him away as fast as he could before the explosion went off. The two were knocked to the ground as Church and his men entered through the new hole in the wall, shooting up the place.

"Evening Detective." Church greeted Billy mock politely as his men grabbed the weapons. "Load them up! And burn this puppy down!"

Two grenades were dropped and Billy grabbed his fellow officer, dragging him out as fast as he could before they went off.

* * *

**_The Lair_ **

"What happened, Thea?" Diggle asked as he saw her with dirt on her clothes.

"Tobias Church." She explained. "That device you seized from him, he turned it into a bomb and wanted to let it in the evidence lockup."

"And then he broke in and raided it." Diggle realized.

"One-stop shop for weapons." Thea nodded.

"We gotta find out what he's planning to do with those weapons 'cause that ain't good." Rene pointed out.

* * *

_**Rachel's penthouse** _

"How did you guys actually meet?" Laurel asked.

"Well, Tommy saved my life a few weeks after he left Star City." Rachel explained. "I know everything about your history, Tommy told me. And I'm not judging, I'm trying to help. I care about him, I really do."

"I'm glad you found someone in your life, Tommy." Laurel assured him.

"And I'm happy for you and Ollie." Tommy nodded. "I still can't believe that time traveling actually exists."

"That makes two of us." Laurel chuckled, drinking her glass of water. "I gotta invite you to Gotham someday. Henry's sister is an amazing cook."

"Does she cook better than you?" Tommy teased as Laurel scowled. "Do I need to remind you how did you almost burn the house down cooking pancakes for me and Ollie?" Laurel chuckled before Rachel's computer bleeped.

"Damn it." Rachel hissed.

"What is it?" Laurel asked.

"Tobias Church raided ACU." Then her phone rang. "Hey."

" _Rachel. I was gonna call you sooner but I couldn't risk_ _ **them**_ _watching me._ " A man on the other line.

"What's going on?"

" _Richard. He's in Star City. He's coming for you. You need to make sure you're safe._ "

Rachel dropped the phone and froze, breathing out quickly as she felt pressure on her chest and could literally hear her heart race as Tommy held her arms. "Rachel, are you OK?"

" _No, no…_ "

"What's going on?" Laurel scowled.

"He's back." Rachel whispered, looking at Tommy. "Tommy, he's back."

"What?" Tommy hissed. "That's not possible, we both watched him die."

"He's in Star City, Tommy!" Rachel wailed, panicking.

"Who?" Laurel scowled.

"Somebody very dangerous." Tommy said ominously as Rachel trembled. "Rachel, I promise, he's not gonna hurt you again."

* * *

"Who's Richard?" Laurel asked.

"Rachel's ex-husband." Tommy explained. "To be brief, this guy is a big bag of shit. He gave me and Rachel a lot of hell after I left Star City."

"What happened between you two?" Laurel asked Rachel.

"It's… complicated." Rachel said hesitantly. "Let's just say that I could never accept who he really was. And he was trained by the League." Laurel blinked. "Like I said, it's complicated."

"He was after Rachel, when I met her and some rough stuff happened between us." Tommy said. "I thought I had killed him but I guess I was wrong."

"Why would your friend turn him in?" Laurel asked, confused.

"Like I said, he's a big bag of shit." Tommy repeated as Laurel nodded in understanding. "Look, he's very dangerous. Dig and his team might not be enough."

"Did your friend say, where Richard is?" Laurel asked.

"He couldn't risk blowing his cover. But he said that they'll meet tomorrow morning at Halpin-Brace with some people." Rachel explained. "If I know my ex, he's planning something nasty and he's gonna literally bring an army."

"I have some friends, who can help." Laurel said, an idea sparking in her brain.

* * *

_**Airfield** _

Tobias Church was having a rendezvous with crime lords as they heard gunshots and a high-pitch sound going off as Merlyn, Spartan, Speedy, Arsenal, Mr. Terrific, Wild Dog, Black Canary, Katana, Catwoman, Batgirl and Huntress showed up, engaging the mobsters, who scattered as Katana and Catwoman engaged the masked man in an armor, who was skillful, while Speedy and Arsenal, Mr. Terrific, Wild Dog and the Birds of Prey were taking down the mobsters.

* * *

A woman with wrist guns fired as Wild Dog and Mr. Terrific and Huntress took cover. "Red Dart is gonna hit you!"

"Red Dart? What kind of name is that?!" Huntress asked, disbelieved.

* * *

A man with a gas mask and some gas weapon was spraying the poisonous cloud as Katana and Black Canary were covering their mouths and Ragman spun his rags around, creating a tornado that was scattering the cloud, while Wild Dog fired at nearby barrels, that exploded, igniting the poisonous gas as the man burst in flames. "Burn, baby, burn!"

* * *

Tobias Church was running away as Speedy and Arsenal chased him down but then he smirked as both of them turned around to see China White, holding in her hands her karambit knives as she engaged the two archers in crimson leather, who were fending her off.

* * *

Batgirl, Spartan and Merlyn were chasing down Tobias Church to the airstrip as he pulled out his brass knuckles.

"You and I have some unfinished business, Church." Merlyn hissed.

"I suppose we do…  _Tommy_." Merlyn turned around to see someone he had hoped would never have to again.

" _Richard Dragon…_ "

* * *

Arsenal was knocked down on the ground by China White as Speedy blocked the knives with her bow, trying to push China White back, who smirked before Speedy laughed.

"What's so funny?" China White sneered.

"Don't look behind you." Arsenal quipped.

"Oh, please, you think I'll fall for it?" China White smirked before someone whistled from behind her and she turned around, only for Black Canary to attack her with her batons and China White tried to block but Black Canary seemed faster than her as she managed to knock China White out by quick strikes to the face.

"Thanks, B.C." Speedy smiled.

"My pleasure." Black Canary chuckled.

"Nice. I guess the training with the Birds of Prey was worth it." Arsenal smiled, proud.

* * *

Katana blocked Scimitar's sword as Mr. Terrific jumped at him and knocked him down, while Catwoman tied his hands with her whip.

* * *

Merlyn jumped back as Richard tried to punch him and tried to retaliate with a roundhouse kick but Richard anticipated the move and caught his leg, breaking it as Merlyn screamed. "Familiar. Thought you'd learn more, Tommy." He hit Merlyn in his face, causing for him to be dizzy and punched him in his breast, limiting his breathing and then hit him in the neck, causing temporary paralysis as Merlyn fell down. "Last time you got lucky. This time, you're alone."

* * *

Spartan and Batgirl were fighting Church as he threw punches furiously, while both of them jumped back but with combined efforts, they were able to take him down as Batgirl hit him in the knee with her batarang.

"You're done, Church!" Spartan snarled.

* * *

"I will deal with your friends as soon as I'm done with you. You're going to pay for messing with me." Dragon goaded as Merlyn was on his knees.

"I'm not alone." Merlyn smirked as Dragon turned around, catching a batarang as it exploded in his hand, sending Dragon to the ground as Merlyn got up and smiled at Batgirl. "I guess now we're even, Barbie."

"Looks that way." Batgirl nodded.

* * *

**_Five months ago, New Mexico_ **

_"You OK?" Someone asked as Tommy got up, groaning as he held the bandages on his body. "My name's Jason."_

_"Thanks." Tommy nodded. "Why did you help me?"_

_"Because that guy, Richard, is a total douchebag." Jason explained. "I've got some beef with him."_

_Tommy then suddenly remembered. "My God… Rachel!"_

* * *

_"I'm doing this for you!" Richard said as he was driving away with Rachel, who was cuffed to her seat._

_"I don't love you anymore! I can't believe I ever loved you! You're a monster!" Rachel snarled._

_"We're at war! I'm trying to make things better…"_

_"You joined those creeps and killed those innocent people…"_

_"Necessary sacrifices." Richard corrected. "The League is not hunting us anymore, we can start over…"_

_"I don't want to start over! Not with you!" Rachel snapped before the road exploded and Richard stopped. He went out to face Tommy Merlyn and Jason Todd._

_"Missed us?"_

_"Just die already!" Richard roared as he engaged Tommy and Jason in close combat, their skills evenly matched but Richard was calculative, pinching Tommy's arm, hitting a nerve and paralyzing him, while kicking Jason in his chest, breaking his rib as they were incapacitated. "I won't let you ruin me, Tommy…"_

_A 'bang' went off, echoing in the air as Richard widened his eyes and turned around, shocked as Rachel had one hand free from her cuffs and a gun in her arm as he looked down, seeing the blood spot on his chest as he fell over the railing down to the river._

* * *

_"Thanks for coming back for me." Rachel kissed Tommy._

_"I wouldn't leave you in the hands of an asshole." Tommy chuckled. "Who's he?" He turned to Jason._

_"A friend. He fended Richard off once." Rachel explained._

_"Thanks." Tommy said gratefully._

_"Anytime."_

* * *

_As Tommy tended to Rachel's injuries as she later went to sleep, Tommy went out for an air._

_"I'm impressed, Tommy." Talia smiled from behind him as he turned around in surprise. "I didn't think you'd be so lucky. Richard Dragon is a stubborn person."_

_"What do you want from me?" Tommy asked._

_"There's still good in you. I believe that you can be what Star City needs."_

* * *

**_Present, Gotham City_ **

As Tommy was enjoying the dinner with Laurel, Oliver, Barbara, Thea, Roy, Diggle, Mia, Lyla, Henry and his sister Nicole and son Riley, he seemed to have finally found some peace and clarity.

" _The past year has been a living hell for me. For so long, I envied my best friend and now I see what was he trying to do. He was trying to be better than he was before the island. Trying to make amends by being the guardian of Star City and now I need to honor his legacy by being the guardian this city needs. But now I know that I can't do it alone. I need to do better. This is bigger than me and Rachel. It's a city. A community. A team. A family. And I will do my best to protect my family. My name is Tommy Merlyn. And I will continue to honor my best friend's legacy… the name of my father and my own will be a beacon of hope for people I vow to protect and shadow of fear, from which my enemies will run. I'm just getting started._ "

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

"These cops aren't on your payroll. Nobody's breaking you out." The officer across Dragon and Church taunted as Dragon smiled. "What the hell's so funny?"

Suddenly, a cruiser exploded as the van with Church and Dragon inside stopped and they all heard gunfire and swishing of arrows in the air, alongside with screams as heavy footsteps were approaching the van.

"Don't go out there." Dragon warned the officer as he was moving out from the van.

"So I can protect your ass in here?" The officer demanded.

"So you don't get killed." Dragon clarified as the officer opened the door, only to meet an arrow in his heart as he dropped dead as an Asian woman with long dark hair and a dragon tattoo on her shoulder stood in front of them, with a bow in her hands. "You're late."

"A friend of yours?" Church smiled. "I'm impressed. So, we're free to go?"

His reply was an arrow in his heart as Church gasped surprised, while another arrow freed Dragon from his restraints. "I am but you're not."

* * *

Dragon and the Asian woman were on rooftop. "Your suspicions were correct. Thomas Merlyn is alive."

"Good." The Asian woman nodded, satisfied. "A time will come, when we're going to crush him, brother Dragon. Do not fail us. We have lost Malcolm Merlyn of Earth-2 and Mia Dearden betrayed us."

"What is the bidding of our masters?"

"Nobody crosses us and lives for long." The woman explained. "We have underestimated Thomas Merlyn, Laurel Lance and their friends. They need to be dealt with. Ninth Circle trusts you. You know the consequences, should you fail, or do I need to remind you?"

"No." Dragon shook his head.

"I have been instructed to assist you. It is the bidding of the council of the Ninth Circle. For now, your orders are to stay low. When the time comes, Thomas Merlyn will pay and you will have your revenge. I promise you that."

"Thank you… Lady  _Shado_."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be before Invasion!, to find out what happened in Invasion!, read my other story Birds of Prey.
> 
> So, what do  you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far


	6. Vigilante

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new vigilante arrives to town as Team Arrow is split about whether to stop someone, who's trying to make things city safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  I do not own  DC Comics  or the CW TV shows  Arrow ,  The Flash ,  Legends of Tomorrow  or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises

"John, I think we've got a new vigilante in town." Curtis said as he showed on the screen thugs hanging above, with a V letter painted on their cheeks.

"So, what?" Rene shrugged. "What's the downside?"

"The downside is that this city has had enough psychos loose. He's making a lot of collateral damage and we need to stop him before he makes things worse." Diggle ordered.

* * *

Merlyn met Mr. Terrific, Spartan, Wild Dog and Ragman in a bank as they saw a man bleeding on the floor.

"I came as soon as I heard." Merlyn explained.

Spartan knelt down, holding the bleeding of the man. "What happened?"

" _Vigilante…_ " The man whispered.

"Yeah, that's what we are." Wild Dog said sarcastically.

" _Vigilante… did this…_ " The man said before dying.

* * *

**_The Lair_ **

"I need to introduce you, Dig, this is my girlfriend Rachel Gibson; Rachel, this is John Diggle, you already know Thea, Roy Harper, Curtis Holt, Rene Ramirez and Rory Reagan."

"Who were the bank robbers?" Tommy asked.

"I ran over their records." Curtis approached the computer. "They've been on something of a robbery spree in the past two weeks, hit seven banks in three states. Lead by Eric Dunn. SCPD collared him five years ago for armored robberies. Got out on parole."

"Looks like he has a new crew." Diggle drawled. "But apparently, Vigilante got there before us."

"Yeah but isn't he making this city a better place just like us?" Rory argued.

"This guy is a wild card, guys. We need to make sure he doesn't make too much of a collateral damage." Diggle ordered.

"And what about him?" Rene glanced at Tommy. "No offense, Merlyn but you're not exactly subtle either."

"I'm subtler than Vigilante is." Tommy said defensively.

"Let's figure out what our guy's play first." Diggle said. "Then we'll decide what next. Rachel, try to cross-reference the ammo he uses with who sells it."

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

"Sorry, pal, we're just closing up." The vendor said as he flipped the switch upon seeing Curtis.

"Really? I was hoping you could help me out. It's kind of an emergency." Curtis said.

" _Emergency_?" The vendor repeated.

"I'm going duck hunting tomorrow and I'm totally out of ammo. Friend of mine said you might have the kind I need. 5.56-mil armor-piercing hollow points?"

"Big bullets for ducks." The vendor drawled. "Anyway, I'm closing up, so, if you…"

Rene suddenly neared the man, with a hoodie on. "Dude said it was an emergency, yo. It's a nice shop. Heard you're the only guy in town selling 5.56-mil hollow points."

"I don't know what you're talking about." The man said, frightened.

"Hey!" Spartan showed up from the backroom as he shoved the man. "Every week, you get a shipment of 5.56-mil hollow points. You sell to one customer. To who?"

"I don't know who he is, I didn't see his face." The vendor protested, nervous upon seeing Spartan. "I didn't see his face. He's always got this mask on. Scary as hell."

* * *

Arsenal and Speedy were interrogating a former associate of Eric Dunn as they hung him on the roof. "Where's Eric Dunn?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen him for a while, I swear!"

"How many bones do you think the fall will break?" Speedy smirked at Arsenal.

"His legs… ribs…"

"OK, wait, I know how he operates!" The man yelled, frightened. "He picks banks based on proximity to police stations! Furthest first and works his way inwards; shouldn't take you long to figure out which place his crew will hit next."

* * *

Merlyn fired a bola arrow, pulling a robber towards him as Vigilante was firing from his rifle before Merlyn fired at him but Vigilante's bullets managed to shatter his arrow and Ragman stepped up, providing cover as Wild Dog and Spartan fired back before Vigilante ceased fire.

"I'm not here for you." Vigilante said.

"Then stop trying to kill us!" Mr. Terrific yelled.

Dunn was running away as Spartan and Arsenal were after him. Vigilante shot one of the robbers down as he groaned before Vigilante knocked him out.

Merlyn jumped down and knocked Vigilante on the ground. "Stay down. We don't need to fight."

"How do I know you won't shoot me? We're on the same side." Vigilante snarled.

"You're out of control." Merlyn shot back.

"This city is out of control and neither you or Oliver Queen have been able to save it." Vigilante retorted as Team Arrow showed up, while Vigilante aimed at them. "Take one more step and one of you isn't going home tonight. If you're not with me, then you're against me."

"Then in that case, we're against you." Merlyn snarled.

"Then you're all dead." Vigilante hissed, firing at the truck, distracting Merlyn and Team Arrow before he vanished.

* * *

_**The Lair** _

"We'll find this guy." Diggle said optimistically as Tommy sighed.

"This is all my fault."

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"I envied Oliver and I wanted to destroy what he was doing. It was my idea that Darhk exposed him." Tommy said guiltily. "Now, because of me, there are more copycat vigilantes, trying to take his place. And I've been trying to make things better but what have we honestly accomplished so far?"

Neither Diggle or Rachel could answer that question. Thea then hung up her phone. "Quentin called me. D.A. got Dunn's guy to talk, he's hiding in Pell motel. But we better move because it's unlikely that Vigilante's gonna wait for a warrant."

* * *

_**Later, Pell Motel** _

"Don't reach for that gun." Merlyn hissed as he showed up in Dunn's room.

"I'm already dead." Dunn said, frightened. "The other masked crazy has me marked. You know what's funny? The first time I got arrested, I wasn't even guilty. They got the wrong guy but the D.A., they didn't care." He said in disgust. "They had to pin the crime on someone. I was a good kid. I spent two years in Iron Heights. I wasn't a good kid after that." Suddenly, Merlyn heard gun cocking outside as he jumped at Dunn and both of them took cover behind the bed as gunfire ensured from the outside, tearing the furniture to bits as they rushed to the door as Vigilante fired a grenade, blowing the room up.

* * *

**_Later, the Lair_ **

"Still thinking that Vigilante doesn't need to be stopped, Rene?" Diggle glared at him.

"I went over Dunn's file. He may have been set up." Rachel said as she looked at the screen.

"Point made." Rene nodded.

"The question being, how do we stop Vigilante?" Rory asked.

"More importantly, how are we gonna find him?" Roy added.

"He's looking for bank robbers. Let's give him what he wants." Tommy suggested.

* * *

**_Later_ **

Diggle, Rene, Rory and Rachel took on skull masks as they used tranq guns to knock out the guards as they snuck into the bank.

"Rachel, you and Mr. Terrific cut off the links to SCPD, as soon as Vigilante shows up, we're taking him down." Diggle ordered as Rachel pulled out her laptop.

"Terrific, Arsenal, Speedy, anything going on outside?"

* * *

"All clear out here." Arsenal said before Vigilante snuck into the van, knocking him out and abducting Mr. Terrific.

* * *

Rene and Rory went to the main hall as they saw Mr. Terrific in hands of Vigilante, who entered. "Call your boss, we need to have a chat."

Mr. Terrific protested. "Don't listen to…"

"Shut up!" Vigilante snarled as he knocked him on the floor. "Call him, do it now."

"They don't have to." Spartan growled as he and Merlyn showed up and Speedy snuck behind Vigilante.

"You're surrounded." Speedy sneered.

"Tell your friends to beat it." Vigilante ordered. "Do it, or I'll waste him and then all of you."

"Go. We got this." Spartan said as Rene and Rory and Speedy left.

"There was another guy outside." Merlyn remembered.

"Still breathing. He'll wake up with a headache though."

"What do you want from us?" Spartan demanded.

"To let me operate without interference." Vigilante said.

"So you can keep killing people?" Merlyn asked, disgusted.

" _Criminals_." Vigilante corrected.

"And what about the people at the motel?" Merlyn asked, outraged.

"Collateral damage. You don't seem to know that this is a war. Maybe that's why you and Oliver Queen have been losing." Vigilante taunted.

"Guys…" Mr. Terrific whispered.

"Shut up!" Vigilante snarled again as he aimed at him. "You're not getting the job done because you don't take it seriously enough. Maybe because you haven't lost anyone." Spartan and Merlyn stared at him. "You don't have a full understanding of what's out there."

"You have no idea, how much have I lost…" Merlyn whispered. "Almost more than I can bear."

"Then, it hasn't been more than you can bear. Maybe you need a push!" Vigilante roared as Merlyn threw a shuriken at Vigilante's SMG as the latter missed Mr. Terrific and then Merlyn and Spartan engaged Vigilante in close combat as Spartan lunged at him, pinning him to a pillar.

"Out of the way, Spartan!" Merlyn ordered as Spartan moved aside and Merlyn fired, restraining Vigilante with a bola arrow.

"You're right, this is a war but we're gonna fight it the right way." Spartan pointed out. "Because this city needs us, not you."

Merlyn approached Vigilante and was about to take off his mask but unexpectedly, Vigilante's mask was booby trapped as the explosion knocked Merlyn and Spartan on the ground and as they both recovered, Vigilante disappeared.

"Terrific, you OK?" Spartan asked as soon as he recovered.

"I'm good." Mr. Terrific groaned.

"Damn it, he got away." Merlyn said, frustrated.

"One day, we're gonna take him down." Spartan promised.

* * *

**_The Lair_ **

"Tommy." Thea asked. "I know we haven't hanged out for a while, so… would you like to have a dinner? Henry's sister cooks well. You could bring Rachel to Gotham."

"No offense but I'm not ready to introduce to them my girlfriend yet. But I'll show up." Tommy smiled as Thea hugged him.

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

"What is thy bidding, my masters?" Shado asked as she knelt down in front of a circle table as several men in suits and women in dresses surrounded her as she stood on the floor, on which were painted nine circles, each within another.

"You have a new target. We want you and Richard Dragon to kill Tommy Merlyn. He cannot be allowed to interfere with our operations in Star City."

"What of the vigilantes?" Shado asked.

"They're not your problem to handle. Tommy Merlyn is."

"As you wish."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To find out what happened in Invasion!, read my other story Birds of Prey, because I am skipping it here.
> 
> So, what do  you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far


	7. Divide and Conquer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richard Dragon steps up his game in his revenge against Tommy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  I do not own  DC Comics  or the CW TV shows  Arrow ,  The Flash ,  Legends of Tomorrow  or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

It was a normal day, when Tommy and Rachel were going out for a date, but as they were entering her penthouse, Tommy frowned.

Rachel seemed worried. "Tommy, what's going…"

"Rachel, stay back." Tommy ordered as he cautiously opened the door and entered, looking around, his instincts turning on. Suddenly, a hail of arrows was spraying the wall as Tommy took cover behind a couch.

"Tommy!" Rachel exclaimed. Tommy quickly jumped at the archer in black top, who blocked with her bow and kicked him back as Tommy tried to fend her off. Rachel grabbed her gun from her purse and fired, grazing the woman, who rushed to the window and used a grapnel arrow to escape. "What the hell was that?" Rachel wailed.

Tommy scowled. Clearly, someone was after him.

* * *

Merlyn, in his outfit was following the woman, jumping from one rooftop to another as he and the other archer were trading arrows from distance and as Merlyn noticed the dragon tattoo on her shoulder, it all clicked. " _Shado_! Why are you doing this?!"

"You have interfered in our business, Merlyn, this cannot go unanswered!" Shado snarled. "The Ninth Circle has my blood oath and I shall fulfill it! There's nothing more valuable than one's honor and I am honor-bound to the Ninth Circle!"

"You're not making any sense! Ollie loved you!" Merlyn yelled as he jumped on a nearby bus. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"

"Love brings nothing but  _disgrace_! It makes you weak!" Shado yelled as she fired another arrow, while Merlyn threw a shuriken, slicing the arrow in half and jumping on an incoming truck. "And Oliver Queen means nothing to me!" She jumped at him, using her bow as quarter-staff as Merlyn blocked with his katana.

"If this is revenge for me hurting Ollie, come at me!" Merlyn yelled. Shado sneered, grabbing three arrows between her fingers as she clenched her fist, using the arrows as claws as she stabbed Merlyn in his chest and disappeared as she heard sirens blaring.

Merlyn ran to the alley, hiding and wondering what the hell was going on.

* * *

_**Later, the Lair** _

"Wait, Shado's doppelganger attacked you in the middle of the night?" Thea asked. "Why?"

"She said that there's nothing more valuable than one's honor and she's honor-bound to the Ninth Circle." Tommy explained as she bandaged his wounds.

"Wait, the Ninth Circle, as in the ones Laurel and the Birds of Prey have been after?" Diggle asked as Tommy nodded.

"Guess since we took down Daddy's doppelganger, they want payback." Tommy concluded.

"And you're their target number one." Thea realized.

"We'll stop them." Diggle promised.

* * *

_**Elsewhere** _

"Where's Merlyn?" Dragon asked in his office.

"Gone." Shado sighed as she put her bow on the weapons stand.

"It doesn't matter if he dies today, or tomorrow, one way or another, he shall." Dragon promised.

"I have never questioned our cause but I need to know why do  _you_  of all people want Thomas Merlyn dead, Richard. I know this is about more than him, Laurel Lance and her Birds of Prey taking down John King." Shado demanded.

"You think you are in any position to question us?" Dragon warned.

"I think my loyalty to our cause has earned me some answers." Shado said.

"Let's just say he has taken something very valuable from me." Dragon said cryptically, looking at a photo of him and a blonde woman. "And I want it back. He's predictable. I know him better than most people and I know  _exactly_  which buttons I need to push to break him."

* * *

**_City Hall_ **

Quentin and Thea were walking down the stairs. "I hope Oliver, Sara and Laurel are going to come here for Christmas." He smiled.

"Me too." Thea nodded, when suddenly, before they could reach their limo, it exploded, knocking them both on the pavement.

* * *

_**Later, Starling General** _

Quentin was on stretcher as Kate approached him. "Are you alright, Mr. Lance?"

"I feel a little banged up." He admitted.

"Just a small concussion. A few days of observation should help you." Kate nodded. "Dr. Rhodes will look after you." And on cue, a doctor with dark long hair, round nose and green eyes showed up.

"OK, let me check in on you." Tommy said as Quentin recognized his voice, while a light shined on his eyes. "Kate, can you leave us alone?" She nodded as she left the room. "What happened?" Tommy asked.

"I don't know." Quentin said. "Maybe it was the same archer that freed Dragon and killed Church. Thea and John are trying to look into it."

"You'll be OK?" Tommy asked.

"I've got security detail watching over me." Quentin assured him. "Just make sure that whoever they are, they will stop."

Tommy nodded.

* * *

**_Later, Star City_ **

"Wow, this is a little more nerve-racking than I expected." Rachel laughed as she and Tommy in disguise were walking down the plaza, where was Christmas market, holding his hand.

"Come on, Rachel, we've done this many times." Tommy assured her as they looked at the wrapped boxes in booths. "Do you think I should buy Thea something?"

"I think she'd like that." She kissed him on his cheek. "Despite everything, they still love you and forgive you. But tell me something, honestly. Do you still love Laurel?" Tommy stopped suddenly. "I'm sorry, it's just… we've been together for seven months now and you and I both know that she has moved on from you and I respect that you still care for her but I need to know…"

Tommy sighed. "I'll always have feelings for her… but I'm not the man she wants or deserves. I think I've found my girl." He smiled at her. "You helped me find my way. Just like Laurel helped Ollie." Then, they walked down the alley and were about to kiss before Rachel stopped, staring in fear at a shadow behind them. "Rachel? Is everything OK? What is it?"

" _Fear itself, Merlyn._ " A man in gas mask said from behind as smoke surrounded Tommy and Rachel. " _Your girlfriend has in possession something very precious and with it… the reborn Ninth Circle can twist Star City into a vortex of terror._ "

"Rachel, what the hell is he talking about?" Tommy demanded as Rachel paled.

" _We're coming for it. We're coming for all of you. Not even your army buddy Diggle, your sister or her boyfriend or Wild Dog or Ragboy can save you._ " The man threatened.

"Go to hell!" Tommy yelled as he tried to punch the man but he disappeared in the smoke, laughing viciously and as the smoke dissipated, he vanished and Rachel held onto Tommy tightly, fear flooding through her.

* * *

**_Later, the Lair_ **

"What the hell was he talking about?" Diggle asked after Tommy had filled him and Team Arrow in on the visit.

"I don't know." Tommy shrugged. " _Rachel_?" He turned to his girlfriend.

"I swear to God, I don't know what did he mean." She said nervously as Thea held her by her arms.

"I promise you, we won't let them hurt you."

"What bugs me more is why would Shado's doppelganger attack you? And who would target us?" Thea asked. "Laurel told us that now they've had to deal with mine and Malcolm's doppelganger few months back."

"You think that Shado works for the Ninth Circle?" Diggle deduced. "She killed Tobias Church and freed Richard Dragon."

"Maybe." Tommy admitted. "Though I don't know why would they target us, unless they were trying to get back at the Birds of Prey."

"Makes sense." Roy agreed.

"Where is Shado now?" Diggle asked as Rachel approached the computer.

"No clue." She shrugged.

"Keep your eyes open. The moment she makes a move, we're taking her down and make her tell us where's Dragon." Diggle ordered before noticing Tommy's look. "What's your beef with him, anyway?"

"He's Rachel's ex-husband, used to be in the League and tried to kill me." Tommy listed.

"Oh." Thea gapped.

"This is… awkward." Rene quipped.

"Rachel, you're staying here. Rory will keep an eye on you. The rest of us, move out. The moment something…" Diggle was interrupted by an alert on computer as Rachel took a look.

"What the…"

* * *

In a ballroom, people were beating, clawing, biting and otherwise savagely attacking each other before Arsenal and Speedy fired arrows with sleeping gas tanks, knocking everyone out.

* * *

**_Starling General_ **

Kate was in ER doing business as usual before she heard barking and shooting and as she turned around, into the room burst in jackals, ferociously trying to tear apart any person they could get close to as the guards were shooting them down.

"How the hell did they get here?!" She demanded, shocked.

"I don't know, somebody left a box in the reception and when he opened it, these creeps showed up."

"Someone call Captain Pike, now!" Kate yelled.

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

"The city is in chaos, as you wished." Shado knelt before the circle table.

"And the allies of the Green Arrow are scattered." One of the men nodded.

"Do you want me to kill Thomas Merlyn?" Shado asked.

"Not yet. But if his friends get in our way, if it is necessary, kill them."

* * *

Spartan, Wild Dog and Ragman were fighting China White in the docks as her men were smuggling drugs into the containers.

"You can't beat me! I am the Black Horseman of Famine!"

"We're not hungry!" Wild Dog quipped as he dodged her knives, while Ragman took out her henchmen and Spartan grabbed China White and slammed her to the ground, knocking her out.

* * *

Red Dart was from distance shooting at cars on highway. "They say that Star City's traffic is killer."

Then, two arrows cut her wrist guns as Speedy and Arsenal fired at her and pinned her legs to the ground. "Why are you doing this? You're killing innocent people!"

"Why does anyone get up and go working in the morning? For money, of course." Red Dart laughed. "I am the Red Horseman of War!"

"And I'm the White Horseman of Pestilence!" Cheshire said from behind as Arsenal narrowly dodged her attack, while Red Dart shot at Speedy, who took cover behind a dumpster, while Arsenal was fighting Cheshire with his sticks.

* * *

Merlyn was scouring the warehouse. "You sure it's here, Evergreen?"

" _It has to be._ " Rachel said over the comms. " _The address checks out._ "

Then, behind Merlyn showed up Shado as he spun around, firing an arrow but Shado caught it and fired it right back at him as he dodged and attacked her with his sword but Shado dodged and kicked him down on the ground.

"You fight like a child throwing a tantrum. I thought Takeo had taught you better."

"Why are you doing this?" Tommy demanded. "Why are you listening to the Ninth Circle? They're murderers! There's nothing honorable about what they do!"

"They're doing what Ra's al Ghul and your father had failed to do. Reshaping the world into a better place!" Shado snarled. Merlyn fired a grapnel arrow and went on the roof, trying to fight her on his own terms but she fired an explosive arrow as the roof collapsed and he fell on the floor as the rubble made him immobile as Shado approached him. "Poor little Tommy. Still a weak little boy, who was crying that his Mommy and Daddy left him. Don't worry, you will see them soon enough." The last thing Tommy saw was a fist nearing his face as everything went black.

* * *

_**The Lair** _

Rachel was watching the situation on computer as the elevator dinged and Rory turned around and sighed in relief. "Oh, hey, Laurel."

"Hi." Laurel smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked as she turned around, surprised, since last time she checked, Laurel was in Gotham with Barbara and Henry and his family.

"I've heard that John and Tommy have been having trouble, so I came to help." Laurel explained.

Rory nodded as she neared them but Rachel narrowed her eyes, suspicious. "But, what about your baby? I thought that you can't fight…" Suddenly, Laurel screamed as the sound wave knocked Rachel and Rory on the ground, dazing them and Rory hit his head hard on the wall, knocking him out.

"An old friend wants to see you." Rachel heard Laurel say as she passed out.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do  you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far.


	8. Downfall of the Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected ally arrives to help Tommy and Team Arrow defeat Richard Dragon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  I  do not own  DC Comics  or the CW TV shows  Arrow ,  The Flash ,  Legends of Tomorrow  or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

Rory groaned as he woke up, his vision cleared as he looked around to see Rachel gone and glass shattered and a minute later, Team Arrow entered.

"Rory, what happened?" Diggle asked.

Rory tried to remember as he got a hold of himself. "Laurel… she… she attacked us. Knocked me out and…"

"Laurel did this?" Thea widened her eyes. "Wait, that doesn't make any sense, unless…" It suddenly hit her, Diggle, Curtis and Roy like a truck. "Oh, my God…"

* * *

"Wait a minute, Laurel's got an evil twin?" Rene widened his eyes as he looked at the footage.

"Yeah. Shado broke her out of the Pipeline. Cisco says that they didn't notice it was because they didn't trip any alarms." Diggle nodded.

"And now we've got two evil doppelgangers working with Richard Dragon." Thea groaned.

"Where's Tommy?" Diggle asked.

"He's not answering." Curtis sighed. "Something must have happened."

* * *

"Your loyalty is appreciated, Shado." Dragon smirked as Shado bowed before him. "Leave us." He approached Rachel, who was restrained to a chair as she spat on his face.

"Go to hell."

"I've already been there, my dear." He held her chin as she glared.

"What did you do to Tommy and my friends?" Rachel demanded.

"Still alive, if you're worried." Dragon smirked.

* * *

Tommy groaned as he woke up to meet a bleached face above him. "Don't worry, you're not having one of those out-of-body moments, though I suppose, you would know  _that_  feeling better than anyone else, would you, wizard's boy?" The man with bleached face cackled.

" _Joker…_ " Tommy growled.

"I've been paid to make you ready." Joker smiled. "Dragon thinks we should prepare the show, so, let's do a rehearsal."

"Let's not!" Tommy snapped as he kicked Joker in the face and freed himself from the restraints and pinned Joker to the wall. "Where's Dragon?!"

"No spoilers yet, Merlyn Junior…" Joker laughed before he sprayed some green gas in Tommy's face as he passed out.

* * *

" _Wakey wakey, boy. First reel's coming._ " Joker taunted through P.A. system as Tommy woke up.

"Joker! Show yourself!" He yelled.

" _Are you kidding, boy? Hahaha, this is personal and I've got a surprise for you!_ " On the floor was a coin, the same coin Tommy's father used to use to perform his magic trick, when Tommy and Oliver were kids. " _You want to know how much I really know? The answer is right in front of you._ "

Tommy picked up the coin and scowled. "This means nothing to me at all."

" _Bluffing already? Hahaha, that is rich! You've ruined your best friend and couldn't save yourself before saving the one you love…_ "

"Shut up!" Tommy rushed through the corridor. "When I find you, Joker, I will kill you!"

" _That's just crazy talk, hahaha! You'll miss all the knowing and die_ _ **not**_ _in the know, what else? Where did you come by your pathological need to make things right? Since I've got a copyright on "falling into a pit of chemicals", I think in your case it's jealousy and savior syndrome, for trying to save your precious birdie, but she chose your best friend over you…_ " Tommy saw a dummy, with a piece of rebar sticking out of its chest as he kicked it down on the floor.

"You pasty-faced son of a bitch! Stop messing with me, I'm not some kind of punch line to your stale act!" Tommy yelled.

" _Actually, you are…_ " Joker laughed before the trap door beneath Tommy opened as he fell down and as he got up, he faced…

" _Laurel_?" Laurel tried to punch Tommy as he dodged and then it hit him. " _Black Siren._ "

"The one and only." She smirked.

"Why are you doing this?" Tommy demanded.

"Because you attacked one of us." Black Siren sneered. "And this cannot go unpunished."

They both traded blows before Tommy grabbed her by her throat and pinned her to the ground.

"Ninth Circle are murderers and terrorists! Dragon is a maniac!" Tommy snarled. "And you're not a villain, Laurel."

"Then you don't know me at all." Black Siren glared as she punched him in the face as he stumbled back.

"But I know that look in your eyes. Full of heartache and sadness and anger. And you want someone to blame. Just like me. What happened to you, Laurel?" Tommy implored.

"Shut up!" Black Siren snarled as she threw another punch but Tommy blocked.

"You don't want to do this. You're angry and lashing out. For what?" Tommy insisted. "Those eyes are full of loss. Who did you lose?"

Black Siren stared at him for a moment before letting go and knocking him down on the ground. "Everything." She took a breath and calmed down. "On my Earth, I lost Ollie… Sara… you… everyone I cared about. And Shado taught me to deal with grief… and then, it was just one bad choice after another…."

"I did lose everything too." Tommy nodded in understanding. "My Laurel… it took me a long time to realize that she and Ollie are meant to be. Maybe I can't be with you… but I still need you in my life."

Black Siren took a breath as she didn't look at him. "The Laurel you know, that's not me."

"But you're not entirely evil either. I thought I was past saving too but… Ollie wouldn't give up on me." Tommy insisted. "I know there's some good in you. Please. You don't have to do this, I can help you."

Black Siren nodded as she reached out and got Tommy up on his feet.

"Oh, come on!" Joker complained as he entered. "You're ruining my big night! It was supposed to be a tragedy, not drama! One lover killing another!"

"I'm not your puppet, Joker." Black Siren sneered as she screamed but Joker managed to run away before her sonic scream could hit him.

"Screw this, I'm heading back to Gotham!"

"Thanks." Tommy smiled. "Now, we need to find Dragon."

"I can help." Black Siren offered.

* * *

**_Later, the Lair_ **

Diggle, Curtis, Thea, Roy, Rene and Rory were looking for any clues on the computer as they turned around upon hearing the elevator ring to see Tommy and…

"Hell, no!" Thea snarled, glaring as Diggle and Rene aimed their guns at Black Siren.

"Stand down, she's on our side!" Tommy protested.

"After what she's just done?" Diggle growled. "Like hell she is!"

"Either save your petty grudge for later…" Black Siren sneered. "Or let me help you find Richard Dragon."

"Why did you work with him in the first place?" Rene demanded.

"He broke me out of that cell last week… and I was indebted to him. As much as it is fun to mess around, I didn't sign up for some kind of petty jealousy agenda." Black Siren reasoned. "Besides, I already lost Ollie and Thea and Tommy on my Earth once, I'm not losing them again." In her eyes were sincere remorse as everyone looked at each other in consideration before turning to her.

"If you even think about betraying us…" Diggle warned as she nodded. "Talk."

"As much as I like to watch things crumble and fall, I won't let that jackass hurt people I care about." Black Siren said. "I can tell you what he's up to."

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

"You're insane. People are dying, Richard and for what?! Petty revenge?!" Rachel yelled as Dragon held her in his office.

"I can't blame you for thinking I wouldn't amount to much."

"You've always wanted to be the one in control."

"I've bettered myself to be more than some low-life, gutter-trash gambler!" Richard snapped. "I wanted to be a good husband and a cop but I've had my moment of clarity, you can't stop crime, I'm controlling it! Look at how far I've come. I've given Tommy and his friends a purpose. But he got in our way. I want to make this world a better place…"

"By killing innocents?!" Rachel demanded.

"Innocent? No. Necessary sacrifices." Richard corrected. "Like Tommy. Ninth Circle wants to reshape this world, when H.I.V.E. and the League failed."

"You'll never get away with this!" Rachel sneered.

"Sir, he's here! And he brought backup!" A henchman yelled as he burst in.

* * *

Spartan and Wild Dog were shooting as a hail of bullets was spraying on a man in an armor as it sparked as the rounds kept bouncing off him before Arsenal fired an arrow, from which sprayed sleeping gas as the man collapsed. Meanwhile, Speedy, Ragman and Mr. Terrific were fending off other thugs.

* * *

Merlyn and Black Siren kept fending off more thugs but as Black Siren was about to unleash her scream, she couldn't.

"Something's jamming my powers." She realized as they surrounded both of them.

"Ready to dance, Laurel?" Merlyn teased.

"Always." They engaged the thugs as Merlyn threw a star, disabling the jammer and suddenly, a hail of red arrows shot them all down as above them stood another archer in crimson leather, similar to Arsenal's and Speedy's but her face was a little different than Thea's…

" _Mia_?!" Merlyn yelled in stunned disbelief.

"Hello, big bro. Long time, no see. And by the way, you can call me the Red Arrow!"

"Two of them?!" One of the thugs protested. "Dragon didn't say anything about a sidekick!"

"Don't ask me!"

"I'm not his sidekick!"

"She's not my sidekick!" Both Merlyn and Red Arrow protested. "What the hell are you doing in Star City? I thought you were with Nicole and Henry in Gotham!"

"I came here to check in on you! Get down!" Red Arrow tackled Merlyn to the ground as one of them tossed a grenade and Black Siren screamed, shattering it before it exploded and she screamed again, sending the henchman flying.

"What the hell is she doing here?!" Red Arrow demanded as she glared at Black Siren. "She killed you!"

Merlyn stared at Laurel in stunned disbelief as she felt ashamed. "I…"

"Is that true?"

Black Siren nodded. "It was an accident. But I want to make up for everything." She said in sincere remorse.

"Fuck you!" Red Arrow snarled. "You killed my brother!" Black Siren winced.

"I think we can trust her, Speedy." Merlyn assured her as Red Arrow rolled her eyes in annoyance.

* * *

The rest of Team Arrow was fending off Dragon's goons as Black Siren, Red Arrow and Merlyn approached the elevator but as it opened, guards burst out.

"Heads up!" Merlyn yelled as two red arrows shot them in the shoulders.

"Way ahead of you!" Red Arrow smirked. "I'm faster than you, big bro."

"Showoff." Black Siren chuckled.

* * *

"It's good to work with you. As weird as it seems." Merlyn said uncomfortably as he was in the elevator with the doppelgangers of the woman he used to love and of his sister.

"No kidding." Black Siren smiled.

"What changed, Laurel?" Red Arrow inquired.

"I guess I'm figuring myself out." Black Siren shrugged. "Zoom is gone and Dragon's a gigantic ass. Boring."

"So… after this blows over…" Merlyn paused.

"I think I need some time to think. Go to Aruba maybe. Find a job. Live in a beach house. I need some normalcy." Black Siren teased.

"It's good to work together." Merlyn smiled. "Is there gonna be a problem, Mia?" He turned to the doppelganger of his sister.

"No." Mia shook her head as the elevator dinged. "Ready?"

"Yup." Merlyn smirked as both of them notched their arrows and as the doors opened, they shot down the guards as Black Siren screamed, taking down the next wave that arrived before entering Dragon's office.

"Richard Dragon!" Merlyn snarled.

"Tommy Merlyn." Dragon smirked. "I'm surprised it took you this long to dispatch of my men. I expected you sooner, though I see you had some help. Laurel. Why did you betray me?"

"I'm not your puppet, Dragon. I'm not anyone's bitch." Black Siren hissed.

"I'm gonna enjoy killing you." Dragon said.

"Go ahead and try." Black Siren smirked before screaming but Dragon dodged her sonic wave and squeezed her throat, disabling her vocal cords and knocking her down on the ground as Merlyn fired but Dragon caught his arrow and kicked him back as Red Arrow swung her bow but Dragon caught her weapon and broke it.

"You know, the thing about bows is that it can be broken…" Then, he punched Red Arrow hard in the chest as she fell down. "Just like ribs."

Black Siren grabbed him from behind. "I'm gonna enjoy kicking your ass."

"You are far too slow to talk so big, Miss Lance." Dragon whipped his head, breaking her nose as she fell down, stunned.

"Get off her!" Merlyn yelled as he rushed at Dragon but he punched him in the face and kicked him in the leg and chest, breaking the bones as Merlyn fell down and all three of them were down on the floor, beaten.

"I expected so much more from you but you have been nothing but a disappointment. I can see why did Rachel care for you… but you're nothing. Just a pale imitation of a failed playboy. You're not a hero. You're a fraud. You fall down and you break." Dragon taunted. "You're not as good as the Arrow."

"Maybe, Richard." Merlyn sneered. "But you know what's the difference between us? I'm not alone!" And on cue, Black Siren threw an arrow towards Merlyn as he stabbed Dragon in the knee as Dragon knelt down and then, Merlyn got up on his feet. "I'm gonna do what I should have done long ago." He squeezed Dragon's throat as he choked out before there was a loud crack and Richard Dragon breathed no more as Red Arrow recovered and she and Black Siren stared at him in shock.

"You… you… I didn't think you would kill him…"

"I did what I had to." Merlyn said simply with no regrets.

* * *

Tommy opened the door as Rachel rushed to him. "Oh, my God. I thought you were dead."

"I almost died." Tommy assured her before Rachel widened her eyes and stumbled back to see Black Siren. "Hey, hey, it's OK. She's on our side now."

"I'm truly sorry, I am." Black Siren said apologetically. "I wish things hadn't turned out this way."

"It's OK, Laurel." Tommy nodded as Black Siren turned around. "Where will you go?"

Black Siren took a breath. "I don't know. I… I need to figure myself out but… I don't want to be this person anymore. I lost everything."

"That doesn't mean it's over for you, Laurel." Tommy implored. "I can help you."

Black Siren turned to him and smiled. "I appreciate what you're doing… but I'm not your Laurel. And… I need to find my own way. For what it's worth… I'm sorry for everything, Tommy."

Tommy neared her and kissed her as Black Siren gave in. "It's OK. It's over."

"Goodbye, Tommy."

"Goodbye, Laurel."

Black Siren walked away as Tommy looked sad as he wiped his eyes.

* * *

_**A few weeks later** _

"I don't regret that he's dead." Rachel drank her coffee.

"Neither do I." Tommy nodded. "How's she doing?"

" _Recuperating but she'll be fine._ " Kate assured Tommy over the phone. " _Laurel Lance has been checking in on her, Rhodes. Does Mia mean anything to you?_ "

"She's like a sister to me." Tommy admitted. "Let me know when she gets released."

" _Sure thing._ " Kate hung up as Rachel kissed Tommy.

"Finally some rest."

"Yeah."

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

"Richard Dragon is dead." Shado knelt down.

"Dragon was expendable." The woman in the circle table said. "There are other plans in motion. You have served us loyally. You may rest now, Lady Shado. I'm glad we did not have to remind you of consequences of failure."

"Thank you… Queen Moira."

* * *

Shado entered a room, where was a six-year-old girl as she hugged her. " _Mother, is everything alright?_ " The girl asked in Chinese.

" _It will be alright, daughter, I promise._ " Shado said, wiping her tears.

* * *

**_Coast City_ **

A brunette was walking down the street as another woman with dark complexion passed by her and frowned in recognition. " _Laurel_?"

The brunette stopped but got a hold of herself as she looked at the woman. "Pardon?"

"I'm sorry, it's just… you look a little like a friend of mine, with whom I used to work."

"I get that a lot. I just moved in here." The brunette said, smiling.

"Where are you from?"

"Central City. I've been in Star City for a while but I'm looking for a fresh start here."

"Why'd you move?" The woman with dark complexion asked.

"Bad history." The brunette shrugged. "I'm just trying to start over. I… messed up in the past… and I'm trying to… trying to be a better person."

"Well, welcome to Coast City." The woman shook her hand. "I'm Jo, by the way."

"Dinah." Black Siren gave Jo her first name.

"You even sound like Laurel, you know that? You might be her dark twin." Jo teased as Black Siren blushed mildly in embarrassment.

"You better hope I'm not." She smirked before walking away.

* * *

**_The Lair_ **

"Seeing Laurel's doppelganger made me realize something." Thea said as Roy and Diggle looked at her. "It's not Team Arrow without a Black Canary."

"But the problem is that Laurel's on maternal and with the Birds of Prey." Curtis pointed out. "And… where are we gonna find someone as good as her?"

* * *

**_Hub City_ **

Two men were playing pool in a bar as they tried to hit on a waitress as a woman at the bar looked annoyed.

"You boys want another round?" The waitress asked as she picked the bottles of beer.

"I honestly wanna order something that's not on the menu." One man said as he approached her and was touching her on her cheek as she turned around but the other man blocked her path.

"Where are you going?"

"Seriously, could you two be any more of a cliché?" The woman with golden brown hair at the counter said, annoyed as the two men turned their attention to her.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, there's plenty of me to go around."

The woman scowled. "I thought that people like you only existed in the movies. You know, two guys trying to overcompensate for their lack of manhood by taking it out on a defenseless woman."

"What are you gonna do about it?" The first man taunted as the woman smirked, then she screamed, her voice sounding like a canary's cry as the two men flew through the window out on pavement, while the woman looked at them lying on the ground.

"That." She sneered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, it's not E2 Moira Queen but really E1 Moira, Oliver's and Thea's Mom and as for how is she alive will be explained later on and I don't think you need to guess what's the next chapter.
> 
> So, what do you guys think?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this and want for me to continue.


	9. The New Canary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to Laurel's maternal, Team Arrow searchs for a new Canary to their crusade to protect Star City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

 

Diggle put the dossier on the desk as he sighed as he looked at Tommy, Roy and Thea, who all shook heads as Rene raised his arms, disappointed. "Come on, Hoss, she…"

"Look, Rene, finding a new Canary isn't just about reviewing resumes. It's… my gut's telling me they'll not fill in Laurel's shoes in here. And I consulted with her and… well, she doesn't have a good feeling about your candidates either." Diggle said. "This should be a little outside of the box."

"Then, I think I might have something, depending on how far outside the box you mean, John." Curtis said as he showed on screen a woman with long golden brown hair beating some thugs.

"Who's that?" Rene asked.

"According to the chat rooms I've visited, some kickass woman, who appears out of nowhere and saves crime victims." Curtis explained.

"Wait, in Star City?" Tommy asked.

"All over America actually." Curtis corrected. "And get this – she even has a cry. Like a canary cry."

"Hold on, you're saying she's a meta with the same power as Earth-2 Laurel?" Roy asked incredulously.

"If that isn't bashert, I don't know what that is." Rory quipped.

"What?" Diggle asked, confused.

"It's Yiddish, for ' _fate_ '." Rachel explained. "From what I can piece from the blogs and news and the amateur videos on the web, the sightings started three years ago in Central City, around the time…"

"The S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator exploded." Roy realized.

"And she's got black leather jacket and everything, only thing that's missing is blonde hair." Curtis noted. "You can fix that with a wig."

"Where was the last sighting?" Diggle asked.

Rachel quickly typed on the computer. "Hub City. And you might want to see her in action." She showed them a footage of the woman fighting two men in the alley. "Wow, she's even more hard-ass than your Laurel."

"No kidding." Tommy nodded.

Then, they noticed the woman scream and knock one of the thugs on the ground with her sonic wave.

"She can focus the cry better than the Black Siren." Diggle pointed out. "And while Laurel can handle herself better in close combat now, she's on maternal."

"What you think, guys?" Thea asked.

"Worth a look." Tommy shrugged.

* * *

**_Later, Hub City_ **

The woman was on the rooftop as Merlyn, Wild Dog, Mr. Terrific, Arsenal and Spartan approached her. "Stop."

"Wow. Costume warehouse having a fire sale I don't know about?" The woman laughed. "What do you want?"

"You're a vigilante and a metahuman. For the past three years you've been working alone." Spartan said.

"We have an offer for you." Merlyn said.

"We'd like you to join us." Spartan offered as the woman gave the vigilantes an assessing gaze. "We can give you a home, a team and a place to better train the use of your powers."

"I can take care of myself." The woman sneered as she was about to turn around before facing them again. "Oh, and, uh, if you get in my way, I'll send the three of you back to Star City with your nuts in a sling." She jumped down off the roof as they all stared.

"Could have gone worse." Arsenal quipped.

* * *

**_Later_ **

"Are we gonna let her go?" Roy asked as Diggle gave him  _the_  look as they were in a motel. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Tommy had a laptop in front of him as he was video-chatting with Thea and Rachel. " _We managed to piece a facial rec from the footage. Her name is Tina Boland._ "

" _She used to be CCPD, guys._ " Thea added.

"Makes sense, particle accelerator gave her the powers." Diggle nodded.

" _She disappeared after the explosion, no known sightings since then._ " Rachel supplied.

"I know someone, who can help." Diggle pulled out his phone. "Barry, I need a favor from you. Find out anything you can on one of your cops. Her name's Tina Boland. Send over everything you have, please. It's complicated, I promise I'll explain later."

A few minutes later, Barry sent to Team Arrow over what they had. " _She was deep undercover and her partner ended up listed as K.I.A. Vincent Sobel. Tina left the force the day after his funeral and no one has heard from her since then_." Thea read.

"Well, it looks like she's on a quest for revenge." Roy said.

"Great, we've got another scorned woman, who's trying to settle some scores." Diggle groaned. "Only this time, we're dealing with a meta, who can blow our ears out, instead of a psychopath with a crossbow."

* * *

**_Later_ **

Wild Dog, Merlyn and Spartan entered a corridor of the apartment complex as Roy and Curtis were on stakeout.

" _I cross-referenced the ATM withdrawals and pings from her burner cellphone. Detective Boland is here, guys. Room 511, should be straight down the hall._ "

Spartan cautiously opened the door as they entered the room, which was trashed. "Whoa, homegirl clearly never met a trashcan." Wild Dog quipped. Then they looked at the wall filled with photos and a net linked to them. "Even though she's not on the force, she's still playing detective…"

"No, this is revenge." Spartan disagreed.

"Yeah, that photo…" Merlyn pointed at the photo on the wall. "Her dead partner."

"Terrific, you see the names on the body cams?" Spartan asked.

" _Already running them._ " Curtis said.

Then they heard screaming from another room as they burst in to see an Asian man restrained to a table, bloodied and Tina beating him with a hammer.

"Drop it!" Merlyn shouted.

"Get out!" Tina snarled.

"No, don't go! Help me! Please!" The man pleaded.

"Tina, don't…" Spartan stepped up before Tina sent all of the vigilantes to the ground with her sonic scream. Tina then turned to the man and used her sonic scream on him and shattering the window behind him before Wild Dog stopped her powers with a device in his hand.

"Sonic dampener. New and improved." Wild Dog said as Spartan came to the man, measuring his heartbeat before staring at Tina.

"You killed him."

" _Guys, you've got uninvited guests incoming._ " Roy said.

The thugs entered, shooting as Wild Dog retaliated, while taking cover and Tina jumped through the window.

"We can't let her go!" Spartan ordered.

"Get her! I got this!" Wild Dog assured them as Spartan and Merlyn followed Tina.

* * *

Tina jumped from the rooftop on a container and was running down the alley before Spartan fired a rubber bullet, knocking her down on the ground as he and Merlyn approached her.

"We're not done with you." Merlyn said.

"We just want to talk. Nothing more." Spartan promised as he helped Tina get up on her feet.

"You two are persistent." Tina said.

"You killed him." Merlyn pointed out.

"Before that, you two were worried that I was the one, who was gonna end up dead." Tina grumbled as she turned around. "Make up your mind."

"Detective Boland." Spartan growled as she whirled on the two vigilantes.

"If you knew I was police, then you know that guy back in my place helped kill my partner." Tina sneered.

"But it's not gonna end up with him, is it?" Merlyn asked rhetorically.

"No." Tina said. "I'm still looking for his boss. His friends are the ones currently shooting out at your friends."

"Let us help you." Spartan offered. "This way, no one else, including and especially you, has to die."

"You know, from what I hear, there are plenty of nutcases running around in Star City, looking to make it a better place." Tina said hotly. "What makes me so special?"

"Stay where you are for a moment and we'll tell you." Merlyn replied.

"Well, if you're gonna make a sales pitch, make it good." Tina said sarcastically.

"Something traumatic has happened to you and you've been trying to get a grasp of it for the past three years." Spartan said. "You're afraid of what happened to you and what you've become, so you're running from it."

"I've been, where you're at." Merlyn added. "Something happened to me, that… turned me into someone I don't even recognize anymore. But I'm trying to find my own way back. Let us help you."

Tina sighed as she adjusted her hair. "OK, what's the range on that… what did you call it? Sonic dampener?" Spartan stepped back carefully as she smirked. "That's what I thought."

Spartan and Merlyn ducked as Tina used her sonic scream, hitting the light behind them and distracting them as she escaped.

* * *

**_The next day, Big Belly Burger, Hub City_ **

"Tell me you've got something from her board, Curtis." Diggle asked as Curtis showed him and Tommy his tablet.

"Meet Sean Sonus. Three years ago, he was a player in Central City's criminal underworld and the target of Tina's investigation. Interestingly, Sonus disappeared around the same time that Tina did."

"Explains why she's been traveling across the country." Diggle realized.

"She's after Sonus." Tommy finished.

"The only thing I don't understand is, why Sonus is in Hub City now." Curtis said, confused.

" _Obiah Hurse_." Rene mumbled with his mouth full.

"Tobias Church." Roy realized. "The gangs in Hub City were under his control, just like he tried to rule the gangs in Star City."

"I'm thinking, with Church's demise, it left a power vacuum here." Rene pointed out. "Especially in the drug trade."

"The question is, what's Sonus's play?" Roy asked.

"Some drug I've never heard of called " _Sly-Dee_ "?" Curtis read.

" _Slide_." Rene corrected. "Like in playground, 'cause it hooks kids young and makes them move to the big stuff faster." Roy clenched his fists at thinking of the drug. "So, if Boland's after this scumbag, I vote we get out of her way and let her do her thing."

"I'm with Rene." Roy said. "Despite my better judgement."

"Me too." Curtis agreed. "And I can't believe I'm saying it."

"I can't believe it either." Rene muttered.

"Then there's this." Curtis again showed them his tablet. "The after-action report on her partner's death. Sonus' men captured her and tortured her for two weeks, so even if she didn't drop out of the police, she would have been put on indefinite release because of psychological trauma."

"More the reason to find her before things get worse." Diggle said as Tommy nodded in agreement.

" _Why_?" Rene asked. "I get that without Laurel, it's not exactly it but…"

"You've seen what she did." Tommy pointed out. "We can't let her go free unchecked. And besides, if Sonus is connected to Church, he's more dangerous than we had thought. She's getting in over her head."

* * *

Later, Curtis tracked down Sonus as Tina was fighting her way to his office but Sonus managed to take her down just by looking at her before Merlyn entered and fired an arrow, disarming Sonus. "Get the hell away from her!" He snarled as Wild Dog, Arsenal and Spartan followed him.

But Sonus looked at them as they felt dizzy but Merlyn threw a shuriken in Sonus's shoulder as he groaned. "Son of a bitch!" He glared at Merlyn as he felt vertigo as he knelt down and as he recovered, Sonus escaped.

"What the hell was that?" Wild Dog demanded.

"That this guy is a metahuman too." Spartan realized.

* * *

"She's in the van." Rene said as he and Roy groaned.

"My head's still spinning." Roy said.

"That's because of Sonus's meta power." Spartan pointed out.

"Yeah but what was that? It was like if he was controlling sonic waves." Merlyn deduced.

Curtis nodded. "That would explain how he disoriented you, guys and counteracted Tina and…" Then it hit him. "Their powers are related."

"Care to enlighten?" Spartan asked.

"I think I have an idea." Curtis entered the van again.

"I didn't sign up for metas, man." Rene protested.

"Sonus sells drugs to kids, Rene." Spartan pointed out.

"That means we're moving on from trying to recruit this crazy lady and focus on taking down this prig?" Rene asked. "I'm all in."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, we need to track Sonus down first." Roy intervened.

"I know where he's gonna be." Tina showed up as Arsenal notched an arrow at her. "What time is it?"

"11:40." Merlyn said as Tina turned around. "Not so fast!"

"Sonus is taking in a major shipment of Slide." Tina whirled at him.

"You know where he's gonna be." Spartan realized.

"Something tells me you're not gonna tell us." Wild Dog pointed out.

Tina sighed as she glanced on the ground. "After three years, the man, who killed my partner is finally in my sights, I'm not letting anyone get in my way." She snapped.

"Lady wants to commit suicide, we should let her." Wild Dog said. "Free country."

"You can't expect to make it out alive, if you take him on alone." Spartan said.

"Your ability won't work against his powers." Merlyn pointed out. "We can help you."

"Thanks for the save. Safe trip back to Star City, boys." Tina left the car park as they sighed.

"Now what?" Spartan sighed.

"Let me handle her." Merlyn volunteered.

* * *

Merlyn stepped in front of Tina's bike as she stopped. "I'm not done talking to you yet."

"What do you want?" Tina demanded.

"I've been where you're at. You want revenge on the man, who has wronged you and taken away the person that meant a lot to you and you feel like you've got nothing to live for, because you're already dead."

"You have no idea what I feel." Tina sneered as Merlyn smiled.

"Actually…" He put down his hood. "I have a pretty good idea."

Tina widened her eyes in recognition. "You're… Tommy Merlyn. But you're…"

"Dead." Tommy nodded. "I was dead for three years. But I was resurrected. It's complicated." He added before Tina could ask. "But, after I came back to life, all I had in mind was revenge on those, who have wronged me. My best friend, with the woman I loved… I was jealous of who Oliver was and I wanted to be better than him… I thought he had let me die in that rubble but he did his best to save me. Too late I realized the truth before Damien Darhk exposed him." He said as it hit her.

"You were him… that assassin."

"Prometheus." Tommy nodded. "I won't deny it and not a day goes by, when I would not want to take back what happened. Revenge is not a permanent answer, Tina. It will bring you to dark places, from which there's almost no way out. I know what you've been through. Beaten, tortured, suffering…"

"What, you see a little bit of yourself in me?" Tina scoffed.

"I've done bad things, Tina… and I'm trying to make up for them." Tommy said as he stepped up. "You don't know how dark is the place you're heading. I can help you…"

"Save my soul?" Tina scoffed. "I lost it long ago."

"I can help you take down Sonus. You can't beat him alone. Let us help you." Tommy offered. "Once we take him down, if you want, we'll leave you alone, for good. You'll have your peace."

Tina stared at Tommy briefly before shaking hands.

* * *

" _I'm reading 15 shooters on the roof and helicopter inbound._ " Curtis said over the comms as Spartan, Arsenal, Merlyn, Wild Dog and Tina were in the corridor.

"In position." Merlyn said.

"You still have Curtis's insurance policy with you?" Spartan asked.

"Yeah." Wild Dog nodded. "I'm still gonna get to use my guns, right?"

Spartan sighed as Merlyn rolled his eyes.

" _Chopper's about to land, guys._ " Curtis said.

"Move." Spartan ordered.

Merlyn burst out from the door on the helipad as he and Arsenal fired, taking down two Sonus's henchmen as Wild Dog and Spartan shot down more of them.

"Kill them all!" Sonus yelled.

Merlyn and Arsenal kept firing one arrow after another as Wild Dog, Spartan and Tina were shooting the thugs down and Wild Dog used his device to block Sonus's power. "Not so fast, dirtbag."

A chopper then showed up, shooting at the helipad, causing for Merlyn and Spartan to switch covers. "They have air support!"

"Can you take it out?" Spartan asked.

"Yeah!"

"I'll cover Tina, go!"

"Arsenal, a little help!" Merlyn yelled as he and Arsenal fired hook arrows at the chopper as it dragged them down the heliport, causing for them to knock down on the ground the thugs as Arsenal threw a grenade, taking the rest of them down.

"I got this!" Arsenal yelled as he fired an arrow, shooting the chopper down.

Tina faced Sonus, aiming her gun at him.

"Guess I should be flattered." Sonus smiled. "To think you've held out a candle for me after all these years. What are you waiting for?" Tina sneered as she was about to pull the trigger.

"Tina, don't!" Spartan yelled.

"Put the gun down." Merlyn insisted. "You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do." Tina hissed.

"You're better than this." Merlyn begged.

"No, I'm not." Tina sneered. "If we're both alike as you said, we both know you'd kill him."

"You're right." Merlyn agreed. "I may be too far gone… but you're not. It's not too late for you. Think of Vince. What would he want you to do?"

Tina pulled the trigger, shooting Sonus three times as he fell down before she dropped the gun. "He'd want me to do that." She walked away as Merlyn was about to approach her.

"Don't." Spartan stopped him. "She's not worth it, Tommy."

* * *

**_Later, the Lair_ **

"She reminds me of Helena, you know." Diggle said as he and Roy filled Thea and the rest of the team in.

"You think she's gonna go on another killing spree? For revenge?" Thea asked.

"I don't know. But I think we should be ready if she comes back." Diggle said and no one could disagree.

* * *

**_Starling General_ **

"Rhodes, I need you to take care of a girl, who fell off her bike. She's in Room 3." Kate told Tommy.

* * *

Tommy entered the ER to see… "Tina."

"So, Tommy Merlyn is a vigilante by night and a doctor by day." She smiled, with her arm scratched. "Impressive. So, you're following in your best friend's footsteps to make up for your past,  _Prometheus_?" Tommy winced. "I think you need a better codename than Merlyn."

"I think it's as good as it can get." Tommy shrugged as he started to examine her injured arm. "What brings you here? I didn't expect to see you again."

"Neither did I, to be honest." Tina chuckled. "I guess I thought I would feel different, with Sonus gone. I thought I would feel liberated."

"It's never that simple." Tommy said. "I learned that the hard way."

Tina stared at him, measuring him. "How do you keep living with so much pain, Tommy? So much guilt?"

"I have others to help me carry that burden." Tommy admitted. "For a long time, I carried that weight on my shoulders alone and it almost crushed everyone I care for. It took me a while to realize that others can help me. I guess I'm still trying to find myself. Trying to be better."

"By making up for what you've done and following in Oliver Queen's footsteps?" Tina asked as Tommy nodded.

"It's easier, if you let someone in. I realized that I should let others help me… my sister, for example." Tommy smiled. "You don't have to be alone. That's why you were looking for me, right?"

"I thought you work with the others." Tina pointed out.

"Let's just say we have a partnership going on." Tommy shrugged. "That's why you came?"

"That's why I came." Tina nodded. "Back on that roof, you asked me what Vince would have wanted. We were more than just partners."

"You were lovers." Tommy realized, seeing the look in her eyes, full of pain and heartache as she nodded. "That's why you wanted to avenge him. I can understand that. I know someone, who's been where you're at. She broke my wrist, just so you know."

Tina chuckled. "I hated Sonus for killing Vince… but I hated myself more for not being able to stop him."

"The reason I wanted to protect this city, is to find my second chance." Tommy said. "After what I've ruined last year… I think we all deserve a chance at redemption."

"You really believe that?" Tina asked.

"If I don't… then why am I doing this?" Tommy asked rhetorically as she smiled.

"That's a lot to put on my shoulders."

"I think you're strong, Tina."

"Tina Boland was my official cover for undercover work." She said. "It was to protect my family."

"And your real name?" Tommy asked.

"Dinah. Dinah Drake." She replied as Tommy smiled.

" _Dinah_ …"

"Does that name mean something to you?"

"Someone I once loved… her name is Dinah…" Tommy said. "I think I should call her."

* * *

Tommy went out and dialed Laurel's number.

" _Hey, Tommy. Is everything OK?_ "

"Hi, Laurel." Tommy said. "There's something I want to discuss with you. It's about finding the new Canary. Dig needs someone in his team in Star City." He filled her in as Laurel paused, considering.

" _I think you should help her. If someone can, I don't see anyone better suited for the job. Just make sure she doesn't go down a dark path, Tommy._ "

"I will." Tommy promised.

" _For what it's worth… I think Ollie would be proud of you._ "

"You think so?"

"I do." Oliver said suddenly as he appeared in front of Tommy as everything else froze.

"Ollie, what…"

"I came here to check in on you." Oliver smiled. "See how you're doing, Tommy. I didn't expect that you'd be guarding my city…"

Tommy paused, still shame and guilt flooding. "Oliver, I… for what it's worth, I'm sorry for everything…"

"Don't blame yourself, Tommy." Oliver assured him as he held his shoulders. "You were wronged and blinded by hatred and revenge. It wasn't your fault. You're trying to make up for what has happened as best as you can… and… all I can say is that I'm proud of how you've grown."

"Are you ever gonna come back?" Tommy asked.

Oliver smiled. "I have other responsibility now. With Sara and the Legends. This city is now your responsibility. And protecting John, Thea and Roy as well. Just promise me something, Tommy."

"Sure, man." Tommy nodded.

"Never give up on the others. I would never give up on you… so, don't give up on my friends and look after them." Oliver asked. "They're your family now, Tom."

"I will." He and Oliver shook hands.

"I'm proud of you. Never forget that." Oliver then vanished as the time resumed and Tommy smiled, returning back to duty in the hospital.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far.


	10. The U-Foes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New enemies arrive, that make things more complicated for everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter is inspired by Venom series from Marvel Comics. I do not own  DC Comics  or the CW TV shows  Arrow ,  The Flash ,  Legends of Tomorrow  or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises

 

" _Hey, Susan. How are you doing?_ " Rachel asked over the phone.

"Working on a story." Susan replied. "Just out of curiosity, what do you know about the Dominators?"

" _You mean the UFO creeps that showed up around Thanksgiving? Not much._ "

Susan went to a warehouse and used a picklock to open the door. "Look, I need your help. I think it might be worth your time."

" _What do you mean? What's going on?_ "

Susan opened the door and faced four metahumans, one who was flying in the air, another one, who was in a gaseous form, another one, who seemed to have his body formed by some kind of an energy and another one, whose skin was made of steel.

"Grab her and see what she knows." The man with steel skin said.

"I'm more concerned with who she might have talked to." The energized man said as the woman turned into mist and forced herself into Susan's nose as she passed out.

"Don't worry, X-Ray." The man flying in the air said. "She doesn't know enough to tell anyone and even if she had, who would be fool enough to take us on?"

" _Susan? Are you there? Sue?_ " Rachel asked as Susan's phone fell on the floor.

* * *

Rachel panicked as she hung up and dialed another number. "Diggle, are you there? I need your help." After a minute, she groaned. "You're in Gotham? What do you mean by… damn it! OK, thanks. I'll try someone else." Then, she dialed another number, panicking. "Yeah, is it Barry Allen? My name's Rachel Gibson, I need your help. I'm a friend of John Diggle and Tommy Merlyn."

* * *

Later, Tommy entered the apartment and was surprised to see… " _Barry_? What are you doing here? What's going on?" Then he noticed his girlfriend on verge of tears.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Barry said as he turned to Rachel, holding her arms and trying to console her.

Tommy approached Rachel and gently held her shoulder. "It's OK, Rachel, breathe. Take a breath and start from the beginning."

Rachel took a breath. "I don't know exactly what was going on but my friend, Susan Williams went missing."

"The reporter from News 52?" Tommy scowled as Rachel nodded, trying to explain the situation.

"One minute I was talking to her and she was working on a story about the alien attack but then, out of the nowhere, she disappeared. She's in trouble, Tommy, I just know it." She wailed.

"OK, we need to get our facts straight, do you know where she was when she vanished?"

Rachel nodded as she went to the laptop. "I traced the signal of her phone to the docks but it went dead. I tried cameras but in the last three days, they've been shut down for some reason." She went over the footage as they saw buzzing on the screen.

"Let's go take a look." Tommy said, turning to Barry. "I hope we can get along fine."

"We'll see. At least you're not as broody as Ollie." Barry chuckled as Tommy smirked.

* * *

**_Later, the Docks_ **

"Well?" Merlyn asked as the Flash zapped on the rooftop.

"Nothing." The Flash said. "Whoever was here, must have packed up already. And I can't see Susan anywhere."

"Let's check her apartment." Merlyn said.

* * *

**_Later, motel_ **

" _According to her credit card, she's been staying in Pell Motel._ " Rachel said as Merlyn and the Flash entered the motel room and saw the walls decorated with various photos and articles, some of them over sixty years old.

"Project Rainbow… battleships vanishing without trace… invisibility… flying saucers…. Teleportation…" The Flash went over the articles on the walls.

"Looks like she's been investigating the Dominators." Merlyn deduced.

" _Yeah, I'm not surprised, it's Susan's bread and butter._ " Rachel noted.

Merlyn picked up newspapers from the desk, when suddenly, the hotel room lit up in flames. "Whoa!"

"What the… We gotta get out of here!" The Flash yelled as Merlyn jumped out through the window, while the Flash quickly got the people out from the hotel as it was being consumed by flames and outside were waiting four metahumans, while the speedster groaned as he showed up next to Merlyn. "Not you, guys again!"

"Who the hell are these bozos?" Merlyn demanded.

"You can call us… the U-Foes!" The flying man said as he threw cars telekinetically at Merlyn, who dodged, while the Flash was trying to outrun the woman, who turned into mist and the energized metahuman, who fired energy blasts at him and the people were getting caught in the crossfire, being crushed by the debris the man made of steel was throwing, sliced in pieces by the energy blasts or poisoned by the mist passing by them, while Merlyn fired a grapnel arrow, retreating quickly.

"We need to get some distance between us and people around!" The Flash ordered.

"Who the hell are they?" Merlyn asked.

"U-Foes, the Justice League ran into them a while back!" The Flash explained. "Run! We're outnumbered!"

Merlyn nodded as he tried to run on the rooftop but it collapsed as the man made of steel threw a bus as the edge of the rooftop collapsed and Merlyn fell down as everything quickly faded to black.

* * *

**_Later, the Lair_ **

Tommy groaned as he felt pain surging throughout his entire body before he got up, grinning in pain as he felt bandages wrapped around himself.

"Easy, Tommy." Rachel said as she and Barry were at his bed.

"What happened?" Tommy asked.

"We were outnumbered and you almost died. I had to get you out of there." Barry explained as Tommy nodded.

"Thanks. I appreciate it, Barry." He shook hands with Barry. "Who were those bozos back there?"

Barry went to the computer and turned on the footage and then, showed the photos with profiles. "Cisco calls them  _the U-Foes_. They were members of the crew that helped build the particle accelerator in S.T.A.R. Labs. Dr. Wells, well, Thawne, kicked them out from the project few months before the accelerator exploded because they were trying to exploit the energy the accelerator would produce, to their own goals.

Simon Utrecht, or as Cisco calls him,  _Vector_. He helped Cisco, Caitlin and Hartley with the calculations for starting the accelerator. Secretly, he created a device that would siphon the dark matter energy from the accelerator and Wells was on him. Caitlin, Cisco and Hartley wanted to turn Utrecht in but Wells didn't want negative PR. He has powers of telekinesis and can harness and fire cosmic energy."

"The flying guy." Rachel realized as Barry nodded.

"Ann and Jimmy Darnell, siblings. Quantum physics and fuel propulsion specialists.  _Vapor and X-Ray_. Watch out for those two. Ann can alter her form into any known gas, lethally poisonous if you inhale her. I've faced a meta with same powers before. And Jimmy is practically a living energy field, intangible and there's no way you can physically harm him. He can change frequencies of his body and turn into various energies, from UV to gamma."

"Noted." Tommy nodded.

"And the last one, Michael Steel.  _Ironclad_. One of the engineers, who helped build the accelerator. He's literally…"

"A Man of Steel." Tommy nodded.

"The nickname's already taken." Barry smiled. "Be careful, not only he's invulnerable but he can shift his own weight to the point, where he can crush a building or hover in the air, light as feather."

"What are they up to?" Tommy asked.

"I don't know but we can't beat them on our own. We're gonna need more backup." Barry said.

"Ollie and Dig are unavailable." Rachel pointed out.

"I'm not talking about them." Barry smirked.

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

Susan was strapped to a metal chair in some warehouse as she tried to call out. "Hello? Is anyone out there? Because… whatever this is, you don't scare me!"

"False bravado." Vector gloated as he neared her. "I wonder if you tough-as-nails reporter types actually receive training to develop that particular skill set and if it helps in situations like these." He charged himself with red energy as he tried to caress her cheek.

"Don't touch me!" Susan snarled.

"You might not be afraid, Miss Williams…" He turned on the light as in front of Susan were more chairs, to which were strapped people, whose bodies were either decaying, were glowing but were apparently dead or were hemorrhaging. One of the men neared Susan with an orb on pedestal as he put on protective glasses.

"Listen, you really need to think this through." Susan pleaded. "I'm here on an assignment, I'm working on a story. People are gonna come looking for me."

"Yes, yes, I know, who you are." Vector mocked as he went over the ID cards Susan had. "Susan Williams, News 52. Also, Health Inspector, Licensed Masseuse, Child Services, all these different identities and I'd be willing to bet there's no one who will miss any of them."

Susan looked in horror as the orb was charging. "You better hope this device you're testing… whatever it is… doesn't give me superpowers, because as soon as I start spouting fire from my ears or bench-pressing buses, you're gonna regret it."

Vector laughed. "We've been running dozens of trials, since we found this location, I'm not worried about any " _positive_ " side effects." He turned to the decayed corpses strapped to the chairs in front of Susan as she paled. "Speaking of which, we're running low on test subjects. Maybe a few college students or runaways from the Glades to mix it up."

"Good idea." One of the scientists said.

"So, you've been abducting people to play "Doctor" in Alien style?" Susan scoffed. "You uncover this… treasure trove of bizarre technology and because you're not smart enough or patient enough to figure out what any of this does, you're just "beaming up" a bunch of would-be guinea pigs?" She demanded as the orb was shining brighter, surging with energy, almost blinding her.

"I've never been the one to wait for what I want." Vector smirked. "Once we found the warehouse and figured out the transduction equipment, we were able to pull together quite a few worker bees in addition to a fair number of… let's call them  _sacrifices_  to the gods of science."

Susan screamed in pain as in her mind flashed memories of funerals, berating and being yelled at by some people as the machine powered down.

"Lucky girl, you survived. Some sort of memory machine that's dredging up all your dirty secrets, huh?" Vector smiled, intrigued. "Let's run it for a bit longer to see if there are any  _adverse effects_  to  _overexposure_."

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

"Is this the address?" Tommy asked, in disguise as Barry nodded as they entered a house, where inside were skeletons, misshapen and deformed skulls and heads and other bizarre sightings, like in a lair of a mad scientist.

"Creepy." Barry said. "I'm guessing that's why not many people visit this guy." They entered a small office, where a bald man was putting together a face from skin grafts on a skull as besides him were jars full of skulls of various sizes.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be back here. I mean, staff only, you know? I mean, who are you? Can I help you?"

Barry showed his badge. "Barry Allen, CCPD, Crime Scene Investigation. Are you Jimmy Z. Johnston?"

"What do you want?" The man asked, nervous. "Look, if this is about the…"

"We just have some questions, that's all." Barry said. "This is a friend of mine, he needs some help."

"Help? OK." The man said hesitantly. "I mean… all those folks should know better than to send strangers to my work, since I could get in trouble because of all these… uh.. constant interruptions."

"We're not gonna take up much of your time. Word around is that you're some sort of an expert on Project Rainbow."

"I'm an expert on a lot of stuff people don't wanna know about." The man said as he put his hand on desk. "But the Philadelphia Experiment, huh? Man! Are they playing that movie or cable or something? No sane person asks about this stuff, much less two people now in one week." He scoffed. "People start disappearing off the street and the conspiracy nuts crawl out of the woodwork, huh? You a reporter, too? Trying to scoop the other one maybe? Just… all these questions are enough to make a guy paranoid… if… y'know, a guy like me ain't paranoid already."

"Let's just say we're some curious folks." Tommy said.

"Well, Mr. Curiosity, the Philadelphia Experiment wasn't any hoax, we ignore and ignore the problem and what happened?" The man said as he started to eat his burger. "All it took was a battleship-sized chunk right out of your keister. In the late 1643, the U.S.S. Eldridge vanished for a brief period of time. Some say it never happened at all, others that the ship was rendered invisible. Some people know what  _really happened._ "

"Which was?" Barry inquired.

"Teleportation… transduction… space-folding. The Eldridge moved… for a short time… to some  _other place_. The Project Rainbow might've been  _officially_  shut down but those wheels are still turning, son. There are branches of the government… off-the-books outfits, who've been figuring that stuff out for years." He crossed his hands. "All the fringe tech they don't want folks to know about, all the people they wanna keep quiet… They just sweep it all under the sub-dimensional carpet, they got these little satellites buzzing all around all the time… and if they want you ghosted… well, then that's what happens." He said, circling his fingers in the air. "All those people, who are vanishing, it's got Project Rainbow painted all over the wall. I can't tell you why people are getting zapped en masse but I can tell you this. There's at least a few warehouses, where any nutso, who believes in conspiracies even more than I do, here in Star City."

* * *

**_Later, Starling Docks_ **

"Your backup is here?" Merlyn asked over the comms.

" _Standing by and ready for your signal, Merlyn._ " The Flash promised.

"Good."

* * *

One of the thugs turned on the camera as Vector whirled on X-Ray. "You said Merlyn was dead."

"I thought we killed him, Vector." X-Ray protested.

"He looks pretty spry to me, maybe you need more supervision to get the job done."

The rooftop exploded as Merlyn jumped down with a sword. "Nice digs, guys, it's got real Hangar 18 aesthetic." He saw Susan strapped to a chair. "Let her go and this will be over quickly."

"You're joking, right?" X-Ray laughed as he flied towards Merlyn. "A sword? Against us?"

"It's not an ordinary sword, you asshat." Merlyn threw the sword as it hit X-Ray in the chest before it flew right threw him. "It was forged by Goddess of Wisdom Athena herself! And it belongs to a friend of a friend! Let's see you deal with the speedster and the wrath of the gods of Olympus!"

And on cue, the Flash rushed in as from the ceiling jumped down a woman with red corset armor and tiara and bracelets with a golden lasso, a sword and shield.

"Wonder Woman! The Flash!" One of the thugs panicked.

"Kill them!"

They started shooting as Wonder Woman blocked the bullets with her shield and threw it towards Ironclad, taking him down as the Flash sent Vapor flying with cyclones forming as he spun his arms.

Vector and X-Ray fired energy blasts on the ground but Wonder Woman managed to absorb it with her bracelets before getting her shield and bashing both metahumans with it, knocking them on the floor before Merlyn fired an explosive arrow but it unfortunately hit the device that the U-Foes were using as it began to overload.

"No!" Vector yelled.

"Oh, no." The Flash paled.

"What did you do?!" Wonder Woman wailed.

"Stop them before it's too late…" Vector ordered before he and the U-Foes started to disintegrate.

"Get these people out of here!" Merlyn ordered as the Flash managed to get Wonder Woman, Merlyn, Susan and the surviving hostages from the warehouse as the device exploded, turning into a portal that consumed the building.

"What the hell was that?" Merlyn demanded.

"I guess you sent them packing." The Flash quipped. "We should call the Justice League, investigate what the hell were they doing."

* * *

_**The next day, Rachel's penthouse** _

"How did the U-Foes get their hands on this thing?" Lyla asked as Diana, Tommy and Barry filled her in the following day.

"It was supposedly part of Philadelphia Experiment." Barry explained.

"Our scientists took a look at it. It's Dominator tech." Lyla nodded. "If it was messing with the space-time continuum, it makes sense."

"So, we've got aliens snooping around in Star City again?" Tommy demanded.

"I don't know." Lyla said. "Let's just hope we've seen the last of them. Thanks for debriefing me, Tommy. Barry. Diana." She was about to turn around as Tommy stopped her.

"How's Laurel?"

Lyla took a breath. "Figuring out some mess in Gotham. It's better if she tells you." She turned to Tommy. "I think Oliver would have been proud of you." She smiled as Tommy smiled back as she walked away.

"Barry. Diana." Tommy shook hands with them. "It was an honor to work with you."

"Likewise."

"The honor was ours, Tommy." Barry and Diana chuckled. "If you want, you could join the Justice League."

"No offense but I'm not a team player but if you need an extra hand, I'm willing to help." Tommy smiled.

"Fair enough." Both Barry and Diana nodded.

"You think the U-Foes are gonna return?" Tommy asked.

"If they will, we'll be ready." Barry promised.

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

"Star City has a new vigilante. He must be dealt with." One of the members of the Ninth Circle said.

"That's what you pay me for." The man with the sword and an Australian accent promised as he stood at the circle table.

"I hope you'll live up to your reputation. You and your jackals." Moira asked. "If I may ask, why did you change your name to ' _Kane Wolfman_ '?"

"To protect myself from my father's sins." The man said. "Let's just say I wanted to collect a blood debt someone owes my father."

"I see. If Merlyn gets in your way, should it be necessary, lethal force is authorized." One of the circle members said as Moira glared. "The payment will be triple your usual salary."

Kane left the room as Moira turned to the council member. "What is his real name?" The council member handed her the file as she read it and then, glared. "Are you certain?" The man nodded.

"Your orders, Queen Moira?"

"I don't want Merlyn dead." Moira said. "Once Mr. Wolfman finishes the job, kill him."

"Is it because of what his father did?" The man asked.

"An eye for an eye." Moira said simply as the council member nodded.

"Why don't you want Merlyn or the vigilantes dead?" He demanded as Moira glared at him. "Out of sentiment?"

"They're all I have." She said simply.

"You  _knew_  the price, when Damien Darhk brought you back."

"I never asked for this…"

"But you cannot leave."

"I will find a way." Moira vowed. "Try to stall Wolfman as much as possible. And find Slade Wilson."

"You want him dead?" The councilman asked.

"No. I want to make him wish he  _was_  dead."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do  you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far


	11. Artemis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An Amazon arrives to Star City as Tommy and Rachel are trying to figure out her agenda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

Merlyn was jumping from one roof of a car to a roof of a bus with a girl hugging him from behind tightly.

"Evergreen, I've got driven off-course, I need a new route, hurry!"

" _Working on it, which way are you headed now?_ " Rachel asked.

"Northwest!" Merlyn yelled.

" _OK, swing west around the clock tower!_ "

Merlyn notched a grapnel arrow and fired on the roof as he swung around the clock tower as a chopper chased him.

"I want my mommy!" The girl hugging the vigilante screamed.

"Soon, honey!" Merlyn slid down as a sniper fired from the helicopter but missed as the police chopper stopped the hostile helicopter, while the vigilante with the girl fell on a dumpster but Merlyn fired a grapnel arrow and escaped as the police neared them, taking care of the girl.

* * *

_**Rachel's penthouse** _

"How is she?" Tommy asked as he put his hood down.

"Ambassador's daughter is safe and Quentin says ' _thank you_ '." Rachel smiled as she hung up the phone.

"This is getting rough without Diggle and Team Arrow." Tommy groaned. "Hope they get back from Gotham soon."

"You know, I have just the perfect medicine for it. After a hardly-worked night, you deserve a well-earned reward…" Rachel teased as she was slowly opening her bathrobe and revealing her features, while Tommy smirked as he was taking off his outfit as they laid on the couch and Rachel giggled as they were making out.

But their moment didn't last very long as Rachel stopped Tommy and grabbed a TV remote, turning up the volume. "Jesus Christ…" Rachel and Tommy looked in horror at the news report about a wrecked train on a railroad as Tommy scowled, clearly, his night was far from over. "I guess that means rain check, huh?"

Tommy grabbed his hood and weapons as he jumped out from the balcony.

* * *

**_Later, Star City_ **

Merlyn was observing the wreckage, when the doors of a wagon burst out, while mobsters surrounded it.

From the wagon showed out a woman with long red hair, a giant axe and red and black armor, similar to the one Wonder Woman wears as the mobsters tried to shoot her down but she managed to slice through them with one powerful swing of her axe as Merlyn widened his eyes.

Merlyn jumped down from his cover, aiming his bow at the woman. "Stand down!"

"Who are you? An assassin?" The woman demanded.

"I'm a guardian of this city. I assume you're an Amazon?" Merlyn asked as he looked closely at the woman's armor.

"I am Artemis and if you don't put the bow down, I'll be the last thing you'll ever see. I neither know or care who you are but it's clear that we both want the contents of this train."

"I just came here to find out what's all the fuss about." Merlyn quipped. "What's in the train?"

"By the three beards, you  _really_  have no idea what amount of power it possessed, do you?" Artemis groaned. "I've been looking for this weapon since I was sixteen and I'm not going to let you stop me from saving the world."

Merlyn lowered his bow. "Look, princess, let's calm down and talk this through like civilized…"

Next thing Merlyn knew, he was sliding down the ground as Artemis threw a powerful punch to his chest. " _Do not call me "princess"_." She snarled.

" _Got… it._ " Merlyn groaned as Artemis got him on his feet. "Before you decide to kill me… just to satisfy my curiosity, what's on that train?"

" _The Bow of Ra_." Artemis said, glaring at Merlyn. "An ancient artifact forged in the dark furnace of a black soul. It is the  _end_  of all that is or ever will be."

"Kinda overselling it, aren't you?" Merlyn quipped before he noticed mobsters surrounding them, firing guns as Merlyn kicked Artemis in her chest, not that it fazed her and took cover behind a piece of debris as Artemis followed him.

"You're a lot more noble than I had thought." Artemis smirked.

"Flattered." Merlyn chuckled. "What's going on?"

"In battle, the terms of engagement are all that matter." Artemis said coldly. "You're obviously not law enforcement, or you wouldn't have beaten all the criminals so savagely from what I had heard. And you're not a member of the Justice League or the team of the Emerald Archer either, because frankly, you seem like a loner type."

"Right on the marble." Merlyn smirked as a bullet nearly grazed him. "Look, take those clowns now, chit-chat later."

"Fine by me." Artemis said as she pulled out her daggers and sliced through the mobsters, while Merlyn shot them down before a chopper took off with a container hooked to it. He turned to talk to the Amazon but she vanished.

* * *

**_Later, Rachel's penthouse_ **

"Jesus, who did you fight this time?" Rachel asked as she bandaged Tommy. " _Bane_?"

"An Amazon." Tommy said simply as Rachel paled.

"Amazon, as in Amazon like the Wonder Woman?" Tommy nodded. "What the hell is an Amazon doing in Star City?"

"Good question." Tommy nodded before screaming out in pain.

"Sorry!" Rachel wailed as she finished bandaging him but meanwhile Tommy managed to pass out on the bed in pain a minute later. "So, that means no sex tonight." She sighed.

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

"Do I want to know how did you acquire the DNA sample, Mr. Wolfman?" A scientist asked as he looked into a tube filled with liquid, in which was a naked man floating.

"I'm a man of many skills." Kane said. "And not even the Justice League could acquire half this science crap. And the Ninth Circle's biggest investment was not in the science project but in people."

"Thanks to Lex Luthor's obsession with aliens, we have what we need." One of the circle members smirked.

"Luthor may have gone legit but we still have… our methods of persuasion." Another council member nodded.

"So, he does not know we're building Superman 2.0?" Kane drawled.

"He did intend to create one of his own." The councilman nodded. "According to my contacts, it went poorly, however. And I got confirmation of the clone's existence, when Luthor ordered to have it destroyed, which is, as far as Mr. Luthor believes, exactly what happened."

"Sir, it's Miranda Tate." One of the guards said as he handed the councilman his phone.

" _Have you acquired the subject?_ "

"Yes." The councilman said. "We're preparing to reprogram it for our purposes."

" _Excellent. He will be a valuable asset to the circle._ "

* * *

**_The following morning, Rachel's penthouse_ **

Tommy woke up to see Rachel sleeping at the table in a nightie, with a column of books next to her and a laptop turned on and on the screen was a website about Egyptian gods.

Tommy nudged Rachel in her shoulder as she yelped. "Hey, easy!" Tommy held her arms.

"Whoa!" Rachel screamed. "I guess I've been working overtime."

"What is this?" Tommy asked as he looked at the lore Rachel was studying.

"I contacted Bruce Wayne for help and went to library for legends about Amazons." Rachel explained. "That Amazon that you fought the other night was Artemis of Bana-Mighdall. The Amazons of Bana-Mighdall are a splinter group that broke from the Amazons of Themyscira over three thousand years ago. They're being referred to as " _the lost tribe of Amazons_ ", that had settled in deserts of Egypt in a city called Bana-Mighdall. Over millennia's, they stood apart of society and became increasingly violent and bitter group of mercenaries, forging weapons, trading them with the outside world. It took several battles, in which Diana, the Wonder Woman, was involved, before they rejoined the ranks of Amazons of Themyscira. Once they left the Paradise Island, they lost their longevity, so they kept abducting straggling men and…" She paused, tensing at the thought as Tommy clenched his fists. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly." She nodded. "However, the Amazons reunited against a witch named Circe and since then, both tribes had a… reluctant alliance to say the least since then. However, one of the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall disappeared. She arrogantly tried to steal the most powerful weapon given to Bana by the Egyptian gods, the bow of Ra."

"The thing she was looking for the other night." Tommy nodded.

"The weapon rejected her, however, the gods deemed her not worthy of wielding it." Rachel explained. "I'm guessing she's been trying to find the bow ever since."

"Great." Tommy groaned.

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

"We've been trying but the degeneration process can't be slowed down, nor reversed." The scientist said as the council member sneered.

"Did you finish the virus?" He asked as the scientist nodded.

"Yes. But the tests on a Kryptonian subject will take months…"

"Miss Tate and Queen Moira want results!" The council member snapped as he injected the syringe into the clone's tube and then into himself. Then, he tried to throw a punch in the air as the clone punched his way out from the tube.

* * *

**_Rachel's penthouse_ **

Tommy was untying the bandages around himself before he saw the news report of a man with pale skin flying around and smashing things before he rushed to the mannequin with his costume, while Rachel was coming out from the shower as she was tying the bathrobe before she saw Tommy on the ledge of the balcony, about to jump down.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, you barely survived the last …"

"Yell at me later, Rachel! I have to save the city!"

Rachel groaned. "Why on Earth did I have to fall for this guy, of all people…"

* * *

**_Star City_ **

The Kryptonian clone was tearing things apart on the street as Merlyn fired an explosive arrow but it didn't faze the clone even a bit.

"I should have asked Batman for some Kryptonite." The clone grabbed Merlyn and threw him as Merlyn hit the tree, groaning. The clone then flied towards the vigilante as Merlyn dodged, while the tree behind him shattered to bits before a giant axe was jammed to his chest.

"Leave the little one alone, monster." Artemis snapped.

"What are you doing here?" Merlyn groaned as she got him on his feet.

"You're in over your head, what do you think?" Artemis asked sarcastically as the clone threw the axe back towards her and she caught it but a piece of the blade scratched her arm and she hissed as the metal hit her flesh.

" _Tommy, I've got a signal coming twenty feet away from you._ " Rachel said over the comms. " _Someone's controlling that thing remotely._ "

"Keep that thing busy!" Merlyn yelled. "I'm taking down the puppet master!"

"No… problem!" Artemis yelled as she punched the clone hard in the chest as he flew across the street, smashing the concrete as he landed.

* * *

Merlyn went to a large building, jumping through the window as the council member turned around, facing the vigilante as Merlyn recognized him.

"Roman Sionis.  _Black Mask_."

"Merlyn. The new vigilante in town. I'm honored." Black Mask smirked. "But I'm afraid our meeting must end as quickly as it started." He threw a punch as…

* * *

…the clone swung his fist but Artemis blocked and countered, while the clone stood his ground before she threw another punch, sending the clone flying...

* * *

…towards the building, where was Black Mask and Merlyn. "What the hell?" Black Mask demanded.

"You have this massive crush on weapons… and you unleash a monster on the street!" Merlyn snapped as Artemis jumped in. "Why Star City?"

"Training field…" Black Mask said simply. "I'm just testing my new pet… using you two as training dummies!" He telepathically controlled the clone as he punched Artemis, who flew towards Merlyn, knocking him down on the ground.

"I have an idea…" Merlyn said as he noticed Black Mask panting out. "You see how those two are tired? I'm guessing the more he exerts the control over him…"

"The more he burns out like a cinder?" Artemis deduced. "Got it."

"Meat, or potatoes?" Merlyn asked.

"What does food have to do with it?" Artemis scowled as Merlyn rolled his eyes.

"Never mind, puppet's yours, I'm taking the puppet master!" He engaged Black Mask as Artemis kicked the clone in the face. "You haven't thought this through, Sionis!"

"How so?" Black Mask drawled.

"Trying to control power you don't understand!" Merlyn said as he dodged Sionis's attack and knocked him on the ground.

Black Mask got up on his feet as he was about to engage Merlyn again as Merlyn kept dodging, while Black Mask was throwing punches furiously. "Who are you to lecture me, you little…"

Suddenly, Black Mask screamed out as he fell down on the floor, mumbling an unknown language as the clone stood passively where he was.

"I'm guessing you exerted yourself." Merlyn smirked.

"The… cure…" Sionis said.

"What cure?" Merlyn scowled before Sionis was again talking in an unknown language.

"Kryptonian." Artemis said.

"You understand that?" Merlyn scowled.

Artemis nodded. " _Can't let the virus take me over. The circle promised I can control it._ "

"The Ninth Circle…" Merlyn muttered.

"What?" Artemis scowled.

"Nothing." Merlyn shook his head.

The clone kept staring in front of himself as Merlyn and Artemis turned to him. "What about that thing?"

"We should put it out of it's misery." Artemis said.

"It's just a puppet. It did nothing wrong." Merlyn argued.

"It's a weapon." Artemis disagreed.

Merlyn was about to open his mouth but stopped himself as he saw the look in her eyes. "Fine."

Artemis approached the clone and picked up her axe before beheading the clone. "We better make sure to destroy the body. We can't let anyone else us it as a weapon." She grabbed the body and the head of the clone before walking away.

"Where are you going?" Merlyn asked.

"I will keep looking for my bow." Artemis said.

"What made you think it was in Star City in the first place?" Merlyn asked as Artemis threw towards him a badge with nine circles.

"One of the men, who smuggled it into the town had this. He said that they were going to use it in their arsenal. But it's not here anymore, I would sense it." Artemis said.

"So, you're leaving? Just like that?" Merlyn scowled.

"There's nothing keeping me here anymore." Artemis replied as she jumped high with the corpse.

"Fair enough." Merlyn shrugged before turning to Black Mask, who kept mumbling Kryptonian, apparently catatonic. "See you in a nuthouse, psycho."

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

"Sionis overestimated his own powers." The council member sneered as Talia glared.

"No matter, he was just another pawn, just like Richard Dragon and John King."

"We still have more pressing matters to attend to." Moira pointed out. "The vigilantes and Slade Wilson."

"I understand you don't want the vigilantes dead but Mr. Wilson has been onto us." Talia said. "Him, Thomas Merlyn and the Birds of Prey have been nuisances lately."

"It will be taken care of." Moira promised. "We need to give Mr. Wolfman time to prepare."

* * *

**_Later, Rachel's penthouse_ **

As Tommy entered the room and turned on the lights, they revealed Rachel on bed, with nothing but a blanket to cover her as she was slowly pulling it down to reveal her breasts. "I hope you haven't run out of stamina…" She teased, while Tommy smirked, eying her, taking off his vest and lunging at his naked girlfriend on bed as she giggled.

* * *

**_Few weeks later_ **

It was a routine night for Spartan and Team Arrow as Speedy was hanging two thugs upside down in the alley. "Yeah. It's good to have a good normal week for once…" Suddenly, the thug's chests were filled with bullets as Speedy turned around and groaned. "Oh, come on, not you again!" She notched an arrow. "Don't move, you bastard!"

"I just did you a favor!" Vigilante snarled. "Two less criminals on the street!"

"Cold-blooded murder!" Speedy retorted. "You're the criminal!"

"I'm what you and your friends are!" Vigilante pointed at her. "The only difference between you and me is that I use a more efficient weapon!" He fired as Speedy took cover behind a container and saw Vigilante run away as she glared.

"Not this time, you son of a bitch!" Speedy fired a grapnel arrow and was chasing Vigilante on the roof as she fired another arrow as Vigilante caught it but it exploded in his face as Vigilante fell down.

Speedy neared Vigilante as his mask was burning and he was taking it off, while she notched another arrow. "You're not getting away this time, you…" She stopped herself as she saw Vigilante's face, widening her eyes in recognition. "Oh, my God… it's you."

Vigilante glared as he pulled out a flashbang grenade and the explosion stunned Speedy and knocked her on the ground.

* * *

**_Later, the Lair_ **

"Thea, what happened?" Roy asked as he saw Thea staring at the sketch she just drew.

" _Vigilante_." Thea sighed. "I had him but…"

"Don't worry. Next time." Roy said before noticing the sketch she was holding. "You saw his face?"

"Yeah." Thea said as Dinah, Rene, Rory, Curtis and Diggle entered.

Dinah neared Thea and scowled as she saw the sketch. "Who is that?"

"Vigilante." Thea explained as Diggle picked the sketch and paled.

"You know him?" Curtis asked.

"We need to call Laurel." Diggle said.

* * *

_**SCPD** _

The CSI were analyzing the footage of Speedy chasing Vigilante as they did a facial recognition of Vigilante, finding a match.

* * *

_**District Attorney's office, Bludhaven** _

A man around 30 years old, with short hair was going over some folders at his desk as a woman with dark complexion and a suit entered.

"Adrian Chase?"

"Can I help you?" Adrian asked as he raised his head, while the woman showed her ID.

"Samandra Watson. Federal Bureau of Investigation. I need you to come with me."

"Why?" Adrian scowled.

"You have become a person of interest, regarding connection to a vigilante, who has been active in the past few months in Star City." Watson said.

* * *

**_Star City Airport_ **

"Welcome to Star City. Personal or family business?" The man at the customs asked.

"Family." Slade said. "I'm looking for my son."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Vigilante here is not Vincent Sobel, Dinah Drake's partner, like in the show, which BTW felt fucking stupid and no, Adrian Chase is not Vigilante either but will have a connection to him.
> 
> So, what do you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if yo u are enjoying this so far.


	12. Vigilante's Last Stand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Arrow and Merlyn join together to stop Vigilante's maniacal crusade once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note and Disclaimer:
> 
> Sorry in advance if this chapter's not good. It didn't feel very original to me.
> 
> I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

"It… can't be." Adrian whispered as Watson showed him the footage of Speedy chasing Vigilante and zoomed in on face of Vigilante, who almost looked like Adrian, except that his left cheek was burnt. "I thought he was dead."

"You had no idea, Mr. Chase?" Watson asked.

"Agent Watson, my brother died eight years ago." Adrian protested. "At least I thought he did. All we got back were ashes."

Watson opened a file as she read it. "Master Sergeant Dorian Chase. Born 1982. Enlisted into Special Forces in 2005. Search-and-destroy unit. Precise elimination. Dishonorably discharged in 2011 for disobeying orders and directly engaging and abducting and torturing insurgents in Basra. Though his information were commended by the leading officer, misconduct cannot be tolerated. Killed two months later in Bludhaven, when he tried to rescue a group of hostages from a crime lord Tony Zucco."

"The building exploded. They couldn't identify him." Adrian wiped his face. "Why would he come back?"

"Do you have any idea, where he might hide? Associates? Friends? Family?" Watson inquired.

Adrian shook his head, still processing the information. "Miss Watson, I have no idea at all, I swear. I believed he had been dead for almost six years. And I don't know why is he here now, or what does he want. All those people, Jesus, Dorian…" He wiped his face again.

"I know you must be in shock but Vigilante is very unstable, unpredictable and dangerous. Anything you can think of might help us in catching him." Watson said.

Adrian nodded. "I want him to stop killing as much as you do." He said. "When he came back, he was… damaged. I wish I had seen that earlier. I… guess I was fooling myself."

* * *

_**Six years ago, Bludhaven** _

"Welcome back, Dorian." Adrian smiled as he and his fiancé Doris and their father Charles, with Laurel and Dorian were having dinner as Dorian let out weak chuckle. "I'm glad you're home. I think you've spent enough time overseas, if I'm being honest."

"I appreciate it." Dorian smiled, though it was forced.

"So, are you gonna tell us how is it going, Laurel?" Adrian smiled at her.

"Well, CNRI's a nice place. People love our services." Laurel chuckled. "It's a nice start…"

Dorian ignored the conversation as in his mind, he could still see the explosions around him and his comrades collapsing on the ground as he was looking outside through a window to see a woman being shouted at by another man as he remembered women being raped and abused in Iraq before he heard his brother's voice.

"Dorian." Adrian nudged him.

"What?" Dorian gasped as he noticed that Laurel was at the door, putting on her coat, smiling at her. "Oh, bye, Laurel."

"See you, Dorian." Laurel said as Doris came to her, hugging and kissing her cheek.

"Hope you'll visit us soon." Doris said as she and Adrian were going to a couch, sitting and watching TV.

"Hey, bro." Adrian smiled at him. "Wanna watch with us, like old times? You promised we'd catch up, before you enlisted."

"Not today." Dorian shook his head, glaring at the neighbor's window.

* * *

Later as Adrian and Doris were already in bed, Dorian kept on staring at the opposite house through the window to see the man yell at the woman, seething and he finally burst out from the house as he snapped and he kicked the neighbor's door and threw the man on the ground.

"Let her go, you sick bastard!"

"What's your…"

Dorian slugged him in the face as he started to beat him to a pulp as the woman screamed. "No, stop! Adrian!" Adrian and Doris rushed into the neighbor's house as the woman looked confused to see Adrian at two places at once before it hit her. " _Dorian_?"

"You like to hit women, huh?"

"Come on, Dorian, that's enough!" Adrian restrained him from behind but he was shoved on the ground as Dorian stared and gasped, realizing what he had done.

* * *

"You're lucky she's not pressing charges against you." Adrian told his brother.

"I'm sorry. I just…" Dorian's hands trembled. "Snapped."

Adrian sighed. "I get that it might have been hard out there but you need to get some help."

"I don't need…"

"It's for your own good. Please."

* * *

_**Present** _

Adrian was going to his car before he noticed Laurel at his car, and to his surprise, her stomach was growing. "Laurel."

"Hey, Adrian." She smiled. "Doris called me. I needed to know you were OK."

"Right now, I'm as far from OK as it's possible." Adrian snorted, still shocked. "Congratulations. Who's the father?"

Laurel sighed. "It doesn't matter. But I'm here to help you in any way I can."

"Thanks." Adrian nodded. "I appreciate it but right now, I need some space." He walked down the pavement and whistled as a cab stopped and let Adrian in.

* * *

_**The Lair** _

"So, your friend Chase has a twin brother." Tommy quipped. "At least, it's not an evil doppelganger."

"This isn't funny, Tommy." Laurel said harshly. "You have no idea how hard it was for Adrian. Dorian was very… unstable."

"Just tried to lighten the mood." Tommy said apologetically.

"How are we gonna catch him?" Dinah asked.

"When I hit him with my explosive arrow, I managed to damage his visor." Thea said as she pulled out a piece of visor from her pocket.

"Let me take a look at it." Curtis said as he examined it. "Some kind of circuitry. Manufactured."

"Can you backtrace the components?" Diggle asked.

"Better than that." Curtis smirked. "I've been working on my T-Spheres, it's a prototype but maybe I can use them to find out Vigilante's exact location."

"Better hurry." Rory said. "We need to find Dorian before the body count gets too high."

* * *

_**Six years ago, Bludhaven** _

Dorian was in group therapy in circle as they all shared their stories. "Sometimes it's hard to believe how easy it is for me to snap. But then, when I look at myself in the mirror, I need to remind myself that I can't lose control like that again."

"Thank you, Floyd." The man said. "Dorian, would you like to share with us your story today?"

"No, thank you." Dorian declined politely. "I mean… I'm not ready."

"Take your time, we're all friends here."

* * *

"I know it might be a dumb question but… is everything going OK?" Adrian asked as his brother entered the house.

Dorian smiled at him. "Yeah. Really." He then saw a news report on TV about a vigilante called ' _Nightwing_ ' stopping Sal Maroni's drug trade as he seethed. Home, or abroad, crime happens everywhere and not even law can stop them. He appreciated his brother working as District Attorney but he was too soft and naïve and police was corrupt or weak. Someone had to take the matter in their own hands.

* * *

"So, 5.56-mil hollow point rounds. Special Kevlar weave with ceramic plating and titanium fiber." The man across Dorian said as he showed him an armor with red V on the chest plate and a box full of bullets with a machine gun.

"That will do." Dorian said as he handed the man a briefcase full of cash.

* * *

The drug dealers were making a trade, when Dorian in a ski mask and a machine gun and a body armor started to shoot around and kill the thugs.

"What the heck? Kill that trigger-happy son of a bitch!" They yelled but they couldn't harm him because of his armor as he shot them most of the mobsters down, save for one as he grabbed him by his shirt.

"Where's Ricardo Diaz?" Dorian demanded. "Tell me, and I'll consider letting you live!"

* * *

Diaz was observing as his hostages were manufacturing the drugs before the place lit up in flames as Dorian burst in with a grenade launcher and started to shoot the place up.

"My target's Ricardo Diaz! Give up and stay down, or run to live another day!"

Diaz was running on a catwalk as Dorian started shooting at him before Diaz entered the control room and pressed the button as the building started to explode and all Dorian could see were flames before everything went dark.

* * *

_**Present, hotel, Star City** _

" _Your brother's alive and he's killing people._ " Doris said over the phone. " _Oh, my God, what happened to him?_ "

"He's lost it." Adrian wiped his face. "I want to help him but I can't let him hurt people. It's… it's a lot to process, you know?" Then, he heard doorbell and tensed.

" _You think he will come find you? Adrian? Are you there?_ "

"Doris, I'll call you back." Adrian said before hanging up and carefully approaching the door and peeking through a peephole and sighing in relief as he opened the door. "I appreciate the visit, Laurel but I don't need your pity."

Laurel smiled. "You don't have to pretend that you're fine in front of me, OK? I'm your friend and I'll support you in any way I can. Can I come in?"

Adrian let her in as she sat on chair and Adrian sat on bed, wiping his face. "This is crazy. I thought that crazy stuff happens in Bludhaven and Gotham."

"I think that in every city is a different kind of crazy." Laurel said.

"Good point." Laurel laughed. "I can only imagine what are you feeling but I'm here for you."

"I can't believe he's become… I'd always been worried he'd go off the rails but I never imagined…" Adrian groaned. "I don't know how am I supposed to process this."

Laurel sighed. "You need to remember that despite everything, he's your brother and somewhere deep down, he's still the person you used to know and love."

* * *

**_One year ago_ **

As Dorian woke up, he heard beeping of a heart monitor as he looked at TV, a live feed of a man in green hood being unmasked.

" _There is no savior. No more hope. No more Green Arrow…_ "

* * *

The nurse entered the room, to see an empty bed and open window.

* * *

Dorian opened the door to a basement as he pulled out the box, in which was a mask with goggles, a bulletproof vest and he grabbed an SMG from the weapons stand.

* * *

_**Present** _

"What's his latest target?" Diggle asked.

"Curtis and I cross-referenced the people, who have been tagged with his V symbol with his signature move he used on his victims in the past months and looked at people, who were killed by 5.56-mil hollow point bullets." Rachel said. "He's been hunting a gang called ' _Scorpions_ '. They've been working out in the Glades."

"I've heard about them." Diggle said. "They're some tough, mean bastards."

"And I think we have his possible next target. Some guy named Ricardo Diaz. The people Vigilante took out, they were a part of Diaz's old crew." Rachel said as she showed them a photo.

" _Diaz_?" Dinah scowled.

"You know him?" Rory asked.

"I busted him three years ago. He's supposed to be serving double jolts plus one in Iron Heights." Dinah said angrily.

"What does that mean?" Thea asked, confused.

"Life sentence with no parole." Roy said.

"How did he get out?" Rene asked.

"State Supreme Court overturned his convictions because of technicalities." Rachel explained.

"Are you kidding me?!" Dinah demanded.

"Our tax dollars at work." Tommy quipped.

"Where is he now?" Rory asked.

Rachel was rapidly checking the computers. "Damn it. All of his known associates are either missing or dead."

"Great." Thea moaned. "How are we gonna find him? If we don't get to him before Vigilante does, he's…."

"I don't think you need to worry about him." Curtis said as he showed them his T-Spheres. "I rigged my T-Spheres to detect the magnetic resonance in Vigilante's tech."

"Speak English, Hoss." Rene said.

"It means that we can trace the signal from his visor." Rachel explained.

"So, let's take down this S.O.B." Dinah said. "And Diaz too, while we're at it."

"Do we know where he is?" Diggle asked.

"No but the person, who prosecuted him, might have an idea." Rachel said as she looked at the file and her blood ran cold. "Oh, my God…"

Thea pulled out her phone and called Laurel.

* * *

_**Hotel, Star City** _

Suddenly, the lights in the room flickered as Laurel looked around. "I think it's just the fuses. I'll take a look." She went to the corridor, not noticing that on the table was her phone ringing with Thea's photo on the screen. Laurel went to the fuse box only to feel a sting on her neck and collapsed on the floor as a man in hood entered.

"Laurel? Are you there?" Adrian called out. "What happened to the lights?" He went to the corridor as he saw Laurel on the floor passed out. "My God…"

"Don't worry, she's just knocked out." A man with Adrian's voice said from behind him as Adrian whirled around and paled, shock flooding through him. "Hey, bro. It's been a while."

"Dorian? How… why…"

"I need your help, Ade." Dorian demanded with scarred face.

"Dorian, whatever it is you're doing, we can figure this out." Adrian said. "Let me call some help…"

"I  _don't_  need this help." Dorian snapped.

"Calm down, OK?" Adrian said. "What do you want? Just tell me. Don't make things harder than they already are, they know who you are."

" _Ricardo Diaz_." Dorian growled.

"What? I…" Adrian gasped but took a breath, deciding  _not_  to do anything rash. "OK. OK. I'll help you and then… what are you gonna do?"

"What I should have six years ago. Then, we'll see." Dorian said.

Adrian went to his laptop and pulled out his phone. "This is Assistant District Attorney Adrian Chase. I'd like to send over our case on Ricardo Diaz from 2013, please."

* * *

Thea entered the hotel room and saw Laurel on the couch as she gently smacked her on her cheek, waking her up. "Laurel, what happened?"

Laurel groaned as she tried to remember. "Oh, God…"

"Adrian?" Doris entered, looking around. "Laurel, where's my husband?"

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

Adrian was in his car, looking at his brother in passenger seat, with burned face. "If you do this, you'll be running forever. Let me help you."

Dorian turned to him, glaring. "You had your chance and you failed. It's too late for that. I'm sorry."

"Dorian, don't!" Adrian shouted as Dorian was coming out from the car. "No! Dorian! Don't do this!" He was yelling as he was trying to struggle out from his restraints.

And then, Detective Malone approached the car, seeing Adrian in the car as he pulled out a padlock.

* * *

Diaz was overseeing manufacturing of drugs as Vigilante burst in, shooting the place up. "Ricardo Diaz, you and I have unfinished business!"

Diaz pulled out his gun with his men and fired, while his workers ran in panic and Diaz was retreating. "Clear out our stash, nothing gets confiscated!"

Vigilante was shooting the thugs down as Diaz was running away before Merlyn, Spartan, Arsenal, Speedy, the Canary, Wild Dog and Mr. Terrific entered, fighting both the thugs and Vigilante, who rushed to the door, towards which Diaz ran.

* * *

Vigilante cornered Diaz as he aimed his gun and started shooting but couldn't pierce the armor as Vigilante shot his gun off his hand.

"Ricardo Diaz, you're a dead man."

An arrow disarmed Vigilante as he glared at the archer. "You!"

"We have some unfinished business, bozo."

Vigilante roared as he pulled out an SMG and fired but Merlyn dodged and took cover behind a pillar before pulling out his katana and engaging Vigilante, who blocked with his rifle with attached grenade launcher and sparks flied. Vigilante eventually headbutted Merlyn and fired above him as he was buried in sparkling powder, immobilizing Merlyn before turning his attention to Diaz, who raised his hands in surrender.

"OK, I give up."

"You're not getting away this easily." Vigilante snarled. "You cost me five years of my life!" He pulled out his mask as Diaz stared, suddenly recognizing Dorian's voice.

"You?"

"Drop it!" Adrian wailed as at his side stood Billy Malone. "Dorian, don't do this!"

"He destroyed my life!" Dorian snapped.

"This is not the answer." Adrian pleaded. "You do this, you're done. Please, it's not too late."

Dorian seethed as he briefly looked back but Diaz lunged at Dorian as Dorian accidentally pulled the trigger and ignited some barrels full of chemicals in the corner as they lit fire and started to burn flammable liquid on the ground.

"No, no, no, we gotta get out of here!" Malone yelled as Merlyn crawled out from the sand and started to run away with Malone and Adrian, firing above as more of the sand collapsed, smothering the fiery trail but too late for the end of the room as it exploded, with Diaz and Dorian being consumed by the flames.

* * *

**_Later_ **

"Adrian, I know it's hard but if you need to talk…" Laurel held his hand as he was on hospital bed.

Adrian stared at the wall. "The brother I remember died six years ago, Laurel. That man… was just another damaged criminal. Nothing more."

Laurel sighed. "And Merlyn? What do you think?"

Adrian took a breath. "I'm not sure if he should be called a hero… but… at least people can rely on him to save lives. Just like Oliver did. I hope he's proud of him."

"I'm sure he is." Laurel smiled.

* * *

**_The Lair_ **

"Diaz's got second-degree burns and is in coma. They never found a second body." Curtis said.

"Great." Diggle groaned. "That means Vigilante is still in the wind."

"We'll be ready." Laurel promised. "Maybe I should call Barbara and everyone else to help, while we're at it."

And, then an elevator dinged and everyone stared in shock to see Slade Wilson coming out from it. "It's been a long time. I need your help."

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

Joe Wilson and his men were in some basement preparing some chemicals in barrels as they were putting tubes attached to them into some vent, vaporizing the liquid.

* * *

"I think your contribution to this city can bring some merits, Miss Tate." A man in suit said as Talia chuckled.

"Have a nice evening." Talia said as she was walking away from the gala and a few minutes later, some people started to sniff and suffocate.

* * *

_**Rachel's penthouse** _

Tommy kept staring at the TV as Rachel sat next to him. "I know it must have been rough but… I'm here for you. I'll always have your back. You've had mine." She held his shoulder.

"I just can't shake off what happened back there." Tommy sighed.

"Some people you can't save from themselves. I know Oliver did with you but…" Rachel sighed too. "Richard was too far gone. But maybe, you still have hope…" She was nearing his hand as he got up.

"Not tonight."

"Wait, you don't have to brush me off, Tommy." Rachel got up. "Talk to me, please."

Tommy sighed as he turned to her. "I'm not brushing you off. It's just that… I'm thinking about everyone we've lost in the past few years. Me, Thea's and Ollie's Mom, Dad's Undertaking, Slade's Siege…"

Rachel nodded. "I understand. Man, do I ever." She held his hands. "You know, I've felt so lost and alone before I found you. Richard… he did love me but… he couldn't let go of what he had been doing and… I just couldn't accept that. But you… I could see that you were trying to be better. You've saved me. And then… it was like a miracle that I met you. Ever since then, I finally believed that everything in my life could get better. You didn't care about my past and you helped me."

Tommy smiled. "You know, I couldn't do this without you, Rachel." He held her cheek gently. "When I first saw you back then in New Mexico, I didn't know my life would change. Maybe I was scared to admit that I'd found something I had been looking for my whole life. You didn't judge me, or condemn me. You helped me find my way back. And, what I'm trying to say is that, I think…"

Rachel sighed as she removed his hand from her face, smiling. "You don't need to say anything, Tommy." She neared her lips to his. "I…"

Before she could finish her sentence, suddenly, an explosion from the window knocked both Tommy and Rachel on the floor.

When Tommy came to and the dust settled, he saw Rachel bleeding and unconscious as he came to her. "Rachel. Wake up. Come on. Rachel. Rachel!"

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far.


	13. Family Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Father reunites with son but the true nature of Joe's arrival to Star City complicates things for Slade and Team Arrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

 

 

Merlyn was on the rooftop of a building opposite of Rachel's penthouse, investigating a possible vantage point, from which the attack might have come as he found a shrapnel on the ground.

* * *

_**Few hours ago, Starling General** _

"Rhodes, what happened?" Kate inquired as Tommy sighed.

"I don't know, it might have been a gas leak." He lied. "One moment, we were talking, the next, the window exploded and I was out. How is she?"

"Still in surgery but someone should check in on you too…"

"I'm fine, Kate, I'm just concussed!" Tommy snapped.

"Are you sure?" Kate asked as Tommy turned around.

"Just keep me posted on her condition!" He rushed down the corridor.

"Rhodes!" Kate wailed.

* * *

_**Present, the Lair** _

"I know the type of rocket launcher. They're used by a group called the Jackals." Slade said. "And somehow my son got involved with them."

"Who are the Jackals?" Diggle asked.

"Mercenaries." Slade explained.

"So, your son is in Star City?" Thea inquired. "Why?"

"Good question." Slade shrugged. "I need to find him. I need to make things right. I abandoned him… because of Mirakuru."

As the elevator dinged, Oliver and Sara entered the lair. "We got your message. What's going on with your son, Slade? Why is he working with mercenaries?"

"What happened after Lian Yu?" Diggle asked.

Slade took a breath and looked remorseful. "I went home to my son. I promised him I'd never leave but I broke that promise. I abandoned him… and he was… full of rage. Resentment… he followed in my path. When I wanted to find him after what happened with Damien Darhk, I found out he had become a mercenary, just like me. Ruthless. Without mercy. This is all my fault."

"That was Mirakuru, not you." Oliver reasoned.

"It faded off for a while… but when it returned, it was like a storm I could not control." Slade took a breath. "And that monster I had become is what my son is trying to emulate. You haven't seen the things his men have done. But it's not Mirakuru with Joe. It's anger… and resentment. And I'm not sure how that can be redeemed."

Oliver sighed. "I didn't believe you could be redeemed either. But yet, I let you help me because I saw the man you were before the Mirakuru. That's what your son needs to see." Slade nodded before Oliver changed the subject. "Where's Tommy?".

Thea took a breath. "Someone… blew up his girlfriend's house, Ollie. He's out there looking for clues."

* * *

_**Elsewhere in Star City** _

A man was in his office looking into a ledger as from outside were heard gunshots and screams as a minute later, Merlyn burst in and fired an arrow into the man's shoulder before he could reach for the gun under his desk. "John Deleon, you have failed this city!"

"You… what do you want from me?!" Deleon wailed.

"You're one of most wanted in Interpol for weapons dealing and smuggling and recently, some mercenaries used a C-100 rocket launcher, a military grade weapon, to blow up a penthouse outside Star City!" Merlyn snarled. "If anyone knows someone, who used it, it's you!" He neared him. "The only question is, how many bones will break before you will break?"

Deleon screamed in pain as Merlyn drove the arrow deeper into his shoulder. "OK, stop! Stop! Two weeks ago, a client contacted me, he wanted small arms, Katyushas, missile launchers, you name it!"

"Who?!" Merlyn demanded.

"I don't know, I swear!" Deleon wailed. "They were willing to pay top dollar though! The package was picked up by some Australian! And… he… he left me this!" He showed him a badge with nine circles as Merlyn seethed and punched Deleon in the face, breaking his nose.

"Leave town and never come back here. If I ever find out you're back in Star City, I will make you wish I had killed you right now." He left the office as Deleon groaned.

* * *

**_Later, the Lair_ **

"Ninth Circle's back." Laurel banged the table. "Bastards."

"Now what?" Barbara groaned.

"Do we have any CCTV on who blew up my apartment?" Tommy asked.

Curtis typed on the computer and took a look as Slade watched at the man loading an RPG on a roof of a building few miles away from the penthouse. "I don't know him but he clearly knew what was he doing."

"How did they even find you?" Oliver asked as he turned to Tommy.

"They must be more resourceful than we had thought." Tatsu deduced.

Henry gestured to Curtis to leave the computer as he saw the message on his phone. "We have a bigger problem. Lyla says that they cross-checked the data with NSA, CIA and ELINT and three more sources and NCTC data on Star City and get any possible hits on no-fly list. Take a look at this."

Barbara scowled at the blank list. "What is this? It's empty."

" _Exactly_." Henry said. "Star City TSA was down for five hours last week, the no-fly registry was offline for a five-hour window."

"Which means that a lot of dangerous guys could have arrived during that window." Diggle realized.

"And look, Naomi cross-referenced the names on the incoming flights against the missing no-fly list. Eight names popped." Henry showed them a video feed on Star City airport. "Now check this out, all those eight guys arrived together."

"Wait, stop." Slade said as he pointed at the screen. "Enhance." Henry zoomed on the face as Slade's blood ran cold. " _Joe_."

" _Kane Wolfman_." Henry corrected. "Wanted mercenary. Showed up three years ago, around the same time Deathstroke was defeated." Slade winced at the statement. "This guy's a ghost. Just like Takeo."

"Now we've got at least eight dangerous world-class criminals in Star City teaming up." Tommy groaned. "What are we gonna do?"

"Wait. We have a situation." Henry said. "SWAT team responding to a hostage situation."

"Leave it to us." Barbara said.

* * *

**_Later, elsewhere in Star City_ **

Batgirl, Katana, Huntress, Catwoman and Red Arrow snuck into a factory as they snuck past the armed thugs.

" _Any sign of the hostages?_ " Henry asked.

"Just some untrained idiots with cheap gear." Huntress grumbled.

" _They haven't made any demands yet. Maybe it's not the Ninth Circle._ " Henry tried.

"We'll find out." Katana said as she grabbed one of the thugs in chokehold and knocked him out.

Batgirl, Huntress, Catwoman and Red Arrow then went into storage room, where were hostages on their knees and guards passing by them. "Anyone of you as much as makes a sound, I'll feed them with lead!"

Batgirl then took a look at their vest. "Seeker, we have a problem. The hostages have strapped suicide vests. We can't disable them all in time."

" _That's convenient._ " Henry quipped. " _Wait, Batgirl, remember that prototype jammer we've been working on?_ "

"Yeah, it might buy us some time to find the trigger." Batgirl said as Huntress fired a bolt on the ceiling as it bleeped and the guards glanced up in confusion before the Birds of Prey showed up from the shadows and took the guards out before Red Arrow took a look at the hatch.

"Where does it lead?"

* * *

Batgirl, Katana, Huntress, Catwoman and Red Arrow went through the service tunnel before a flashlight shined on them. "Intruders! Kill the hostages!"

"I can't! Something's jamming the signal!"

"So much for subtle and quiet." Katana quipped as they engaged the mercenaries and dodging gunfire, while Red Arrow and Huntress were shooting them down, Batgirl, Katana and Catwoman acrobatically dodged the bullets and incapacitated the mercenaries before Huntress grabbed one of the mercs and stabbed him with a bolt from her crossbow.

"Why have you taken the hostages here?" She demanded.

"Screw you." The mercenary spat as Katana reached for his pocket and found a badge with Ninth Circle as Huntress drove the bolt deeper into the merc's shoulder as he screamed out.

"What's Ninth Circle planning?!" She snarled.

"Ahhhh! OK, OK, I'll tell you! Biological weapon… water filtration plant… they're using a disease…"

"To poison the water supply?" Red Arrow deduced as the mercenary nodded.

"Now tell us how to disarm the bombs on the hostages." Catwoman growled.

"Flash drive on my belt. A code." The mercenary choked out as Batgirl found it. "I told you everything you wanted. I helped you. You can't kill me. Please."

Most of the Birds of Prey glared at Huntress, who just smirked. "I won't kill you but I can't promise you'll walk away from here." She fired from her crossbow at the mercenary's knee as he screamed out in pain, while the rest of the girls smirked and shook their heads, amused.

* * *

Gunshots and screams sounded throughout the corridors as Deathstroke was slicing and shooting through the mercenaries, who kept shooting back but couldn't penetrate his armor as he was shooting them down with an Uzi in one hand and in the other one his sword before he entered a large room, where the mercenaries surrounded him.

"Well, I believed you had lost your edge. I must say, I'm impressed." A bearded man said as he stepped out in front of the mercenaries.

"I know he's here, Nylander." Slade said as he put down his mask. "Where's my boy?"

"Hello, father." Joe said as he stepped out with an SMG. "It's been a long time."

* * *

Batgirl, Katana, Huntress, Catwoman and Red Arrow snuck into the water filtration plant.

"Hank, we're dealing with pros now, they did a clean takeout on the plant's security."

" _Not just security, it's in the entire system, I need to crack their hack to get you guys in._ " Henry sighed. " _Should take a few… got it. You're good to go._ "

Huntress hid in the shadows as she fired bolts with tranquilizers at the mercenaries and stole their access cards to open the door as Batgirl took a look at the computer.

"They're pumping the bioagent at two locations."

" _Can you shut down the outflow valve?_ " Henry asked.

"I'm trying but it's not easy." Batgirl quickly typed into the computer.

" _Let me handle it, see if you can contain the contaminated water in the plant._ " Henry suggested. " _Better hurry, we've got ten minutes before the levels in the water get critical._ "

* * *

Huntress and Red Arrow went to see mercenaries guarding some sort of a pump as they started to shoot them down as the mercenaries opened fire at them, while both vigilantes took cover before the mercenaries reloaded and then, Huntress and Red Arrow rushed at them, taking them down before taking a look at the pump.

"OK, I've got no idea what am I looking at." Huntress said. "This is your wheelhouse, Hank."

" _Calm down. Is there a timer?_ " Henry asked.

"Yeah." Red Arrow nodded.

" _There should be a small hatch under the timer._ " Henry was giving them instructions on disarming the device.

* * *

" _Damn it._ " Henry groaned. " _Babs, you're gonna have to shut down the valve manually. I'm sending you the blueprints on where it is._ "

Batgirl, Katana and Catwoman were going through the corridor to the main valve as they approached it before a large, muscular mercenary grabbed Katana from behind as she choked out, while Catwoman kicked him in the leg, causing for him to kneel and let go of Katana before Catwoman lunged at the man and buried her nails into his eyes as he screamed out in pain, while Katana and Batgirl tried to close the valve with their hands, yelling in exhaustion.

* * *

"I disarmed the device. It's over." Red Arrow said.

" _Batgirl, have you closed the valve?_ " Henry asked.

"Yeah." Batgirl said as Henry heard a man screaming in pain.

" _What is that?_ " He asked.

"You… don't want to know." Katana said as she saw Catwoman with bloodied thumbs and the man on the ground screaming with bloodied eyes.

"Never rub the cat the wrong way." Catwoman quipped.

* * *

"If I wanted a family reunion, I would have sent an invitation." Joe snapped as he drew his gun.

"Maybe you did, kid, you just haven't realized it." Slade said as he neared Joe. "I came all the way here to speak with you and no one gets in my way, if they want to live, because you're the only thing I have left in this world." He raised his voice. "What's it gonna be, son?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't swayed by the poetry." Joe lowered his gun. "But how can I trust you?"

"Trust is built upon honesty." Slade said. "I think you and I have a lot of catching up to do."

Joe stared at him in consideration. "I suppose we do."

* * *

"The Jackals are a friendly bunch." Slade quipped as he and Joe were in a small office, drinking. "Must have been hard to keep ASIS in the dark so long."

"It's amazing what the agencies overlook, when they're willing to leave their own men for dead." Joe said as he sat down. "There's something I wanted to ask you. Why did you help Oliver Queen after what he did to you?"

"We had a mutual enemy at the time." Slade said. "You know the saying, enemy of my enemy is my friend. But, in the end… he got exactly what he deserved. No more hero… just a broken man, who lost what mattered the most."

"Indeed." Joe smirked. "Actually, since you're here, perhaps you can show us how it's done. According to my intel, A.R.G.U.S. is transferring some supplies of Semtex. I'm gonna take a small team to intercept. Ready to show us how it's done, Deathstroke?"

* * *

The mercenaries put spikes on the road as the truck drove down as the tires were pierced by the spikes as the truck skidded and the mercenaries opened fire at the guards and Deathstroke shot one of the guards down before Joe approached the guard, pulling out his sword and killing the man and Slade looked surprised at his son's ruthlessness.

"We don't leave witnesses."

" _Sir, we have a situation._ " Someone called out on Joe's radio.

"What's happening?" Joe demanded.

" _The Birds of Prey. They're taking out our men at the water filtration plant._ "

* * *

Deathstroke, Joe and the Jackals quickly drove to the water filtration plant, surrounding the compound as the Birds of Prey were on the run before they surrounded the vigilantes.

"Well, well." Joe laughed. "The Birds of Prey. Where's Laurel Lance?"

"Not here." Batgirl sneered.

"The closest friends of the Black Canary. I assume you would want to do the honors?" Joe handed Deathstroke the sword as he looked in consideration, while Batgirl subtly shook her head.

"Son… I thought you would have learned… that assumption is the mother of all failures!" Deathstroke grabbed Joe by his arm and took him down as the Birds of Prey engaged the mercenaries in close combat, taking them down. "Get out of here!" Slade yelled.

Batgirl protested. "Wait, what about…"

"Go!" Slade insisted as Birds of Prey went on to retreat.

* * *

Batgirl, Huntress, Katana, Red Arrow and Catwoman were driving on their bikes on the road as the Jackals were chasing them before the Canary showed up on the road and screamed, flipping some cars over and then, Oliver in ski mask and with a bow and quiver, Spartan, Mr. Terrific, Wild Dog, Arsenal, Speedy and Ragman went helping them fight the mercenaries, who kept arriving in waves as the vigilantes were taking cover and firing at them and engaging them in close combat.

* * *

"Trust begins with honesty!" Joe shouted as he and Slade were exchanging glares, circling each other around. "That's what you said to me but you lied!"

"You know that life is not that simple, Joe." Slade reasoned.

"That's not my name!" Joe snapped. "And how could you forgive Oliver Queen after what he's done to you?"

"Because he was willing to forgive me for far worse, sins that I have to carry to the grave!" Slade raised his voice. "A curse I didn't want to pass onto you! All of this anger and resentment, it's time to bring it to an end, son!"

"No, this is just the beginning!" Joe pulled out his sword and engaged Slade, who drew his own sword and started to defend himself as he kept on retreating. "You used to be ruthless! What happened?!"

"What you saw was the Mirakuru." Slade said.

"Stop lying!" Joe roared as Slade flipped him over his back, knocking him on the ground. "I saw you kill before the Mirakuru! Milford Sound, our father-son trip. The one you promised would be about you and me, I saw what you did to that Chinese spy."

Slade then remembered slitting throat of a Chinese man in Australia fifteen years ago. "I was on a mission for ASIS." He neared the sword to Joe's neck.

"Here's something you don't know. Something mother never told you. I have a brother. His name is Grant. Mother didn't want him in this world." Slade looked shocked at the news as Joe got up on his feet. "But me, I'm my father's son. I made my first kill six months after our camping trip. I slit his throat. Just like you did!" He slugged Slade in his face as he fell down. "I wanted to be exactly like my father! Like Deathstroke!"

Slade knelt down, staring at Joe for a moment before putting his own sword down. "I am not Deathstroke anymore."

Joe looked at his father, betrayed. "Then, you're not my father anymore. You're just in my way!" He swung his arm as an arrow robbed him of his sword and Joe looked shocked to see an Asian woman in black hood holding a bow as she aimed another arrow, shooting Joe in his shoulder as he fell over the ledge.

"No!" Slade shouted before he turned around and widened his eye, shocked. " _Shado…_ "

She fired an explosive arrow on the ground as the explosion sent Slade in the air flying and the next thing he remembered, was the darkness consuming him.

* * *

**_Later_ **

Slade woke up in A.R.G.U.S. medical ward as near him was Oliver.

"You alright, Slade?"

"What happened?" Slade gasped out. "Where's Joe?"

"A part of the plant exploded but they didn't poison the people." Oliver explained. "There was no sign of Joe. I think we need to assume he's still alive. What happened?"

Slade took a breath. "Someone… attacked us. Tried to kill me. An archer."

"Who?" Oliver asked as Slade considered saying it was Shado but he didn't want to worry Oliver that he was hallucinating again.

"I… don't know." Slade lied. "I couldn't see his face. It was too dark. I remember an explosive arrow on the floor, then… nothing."

"We'll find them." Oliver promised.

* * *

"Lyla, the Circle needs to be stopped." Laurel said as Lyla sighed.

"I'll do what I can." She nodded. "How's Tommy doing?"

"He's been following some leads on Circle but hasn't told me anything." Laurel said. "I'll check in on him."

* * *

**_Later, Starling General_ **

Tommy was at Rachel's side on her bed as she groaned, waking up. " _Tommy…_ "

"Hey." Tommy held her hand. "I'm here."

"Where else would you be?" She smiled weakly. "Thank you…"

"For what?" Tommy asked.

"You've saved my life many times." Rachel said. "I didn't believe I could feel… what I feel… anymore… after Richard lost his mind… when we met… it was like a miracle… you fill that void inside me and…"

Tommy held her hand. "I know. You made me feel the same way too. You believed in me, even when I did not. And you… I didn't know what I wanted, until I met you. Right now, as long as I have you in my life… I'm not much worried about anything else."

"I feel the same way, Tommy." Rachel smiled. "No matter what happens, I want you to know… I'll always… love…" Suddenly, she started to choke out as the heart monitor bleeped rapidly and flatlined.

"Rachel. Rachel!" Tommy panicked as he held her arms. "No, come on! Rachel! Please, don't do this!"

The doctors rushed in and forced him out as Tommy was in the corridor, while they were trying to revive her and to Tommy, it felt like an eternity as he waited on the seat before Kate approached him and Tommy stood up and she couldn't even look him in the eye and Tommy felt like his entire world crumbled down as he stepped back and pinned his back to the wall and panted out as Laurel showed up from the corner but when she saw the devastated look on Tommy's face, she covered her mouth and broke down in tears as Tommy fumed with grief, rage and anger as he screamed out. "Nooo!"

* * *

"Tommy… I don't even know what to say." Oliver said as Tommy stared outside the window.

Tommy took a breath. "There was a time I would have thought it was my fault. That I brought this darkness upon us. But now I know that it's not my fault. It's my responsibility."

"Responsibility to do  _what_?" Oliver asked.

"To end it." Tommy vowed. "I will find the Ninth Circle and force them out of Star City. Once and for all. Either they'll run, or I'll kill every last one of them."

"Is there anything I can do?" Oliver offered.

"Just stay out of this, Ollie." Tommy said. "You've got other concerns."

Oliver nodded before he held his shoulder. "Just promise me something." Tommy turned to him. "Don't go down that path you did last year. Don't lose yourself again."

"I'm not sure I can." Tommy admitted.

Oliver sighed. "Just remember what you still have… and don't think only about what you've lost. I'm speaking from experience." He walked away as Tommy glared at his own reflection on the window as a stray tear rolled down his cheek.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if yo u are enjoying this so far.


	14. An Unexpected Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy is pushed over the edge as he decides to put an end to Ninth Circle once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

  _ **The Lair**_

"Any sign of Tommy?" Diggle asked as Curtis was at the computer.

"No." Curtis said. "I gotta admit, he knows how to be a ghost."

Dinah hung up. "That was Pike. There has been a lot of tortured or dead meat in the street. Those dead had badges with nine circles." She showed the photos on the computer as Diggle and Curtis both groaned, disgusted.

"God…" Diggle said. "We need to find and stop him before he goes too far."

"Rory, Rene, Thea and Roy are on the streets on lookout, John." Curtis assured him. "They'll get him eventually."

* * *

**_Star City_ **

"Where's Ninth Circle?!" Merlyn snarled as he stabbed his sword into a man in suit. "Tell me and I'll spare you!"

"I don't know anything, man, I swear!" The man cried out in pain.

"You're one of them!" Merlyn dropped the badge with nine circles on the floor. "You must know something! Talk! Or I'll skin you alive and feed you with your own flesh, if I have to!"

"OK, stop! I'll talk!" The man wailed as Merlyn kept on cutting into the man's chest. "Senator Wickett! Peace conference, tonight! I don't know what are they planning but it's gonna happen there! That's all I know! I swear to God! You have to believe me!"

"I believe you." Merlyn snarled. "I just don't care. You have failed this city and there's a price you must pay for it." He started to cut the skin out of the man, glaring hatefully.

"No, no, aagghhh, please, no!"

* * *

**_Star City_ **

"Now, without any further delays, please welcome Senator Wickett." Quentin went down from the stage as applause sounded and a 40-year-old woman stepped up.

"Thank you, Mayor Lance for inviting me to speak on an issue that has been near and dear to me for a while. I stand here with a heavy heart, not only because of what's happening overseas right now but because of what's happening right here in this country. Some of you might have heard but lately, a dangerous force has arisen that threatens to take over our people. Take control over our economy and infrastructure. And I intend to shed some light on them. And we need to stand united against…"

An explosion from a nearby building interrupted her speech as a missile filed towards the City Hall, hitting the wall above Quentin and Wickett as Quentin was forced out of the way by Pike but the rubble killed senator.

* * *

Merlyn looked at the vantage point, from which the shooter fired and found a shrapnel on the ground that had carved ' _LexCorp_ '.

* * *

**_Seattle_ **

"Mr. Luthor. Someone's here to see you." A secretary said as Lex was looking out from the window.

"I'm busy, Polly."

"Sir, well, he's rather insistent. He said his name was…  _Merlyn_?"

Lex raised his brows as he went to the door and saw guards lying on the floor and Merlyn glaring at Lex hatefully.

"Polly. Clear up my schedule and don't call any authorities or guards here, unless I say otherwise." Lex said.

"Lex, with all due respect, are you sure…"

"Don't worry, Polly. It will be alright. Just trust me." Lex assured her as she left the office nervously, too frightened to look at the vigilante, while Lex politely let Merlyn into his office. "You're either incredibly brave… or stupid. Or both. Sometimes, there's a fine line between those two things. Whiskey?" He picked the bottle from the desk.

"I'm not in mood for games, Luthor!" Merlyn snapped as he put the badge with nine circles on the table. "The Ninth Circle! Talk!"

" _Ninth Circle_?" Lex scowled. "You honestly think I have anything to do with them?"

"Explain to me, why did they try to assassinate Senator Wickett tonight and why did they use your missile launcher." Merlyn snarled as he notched an arrow. "Or the cloned Kryptonian last month."

Lex sighed as he drank the whiskey. "It's true that they approached me. But I told them to leave me out of their cultist ideology…" Then, he crushed the badge with his hand as he clenched his fist. "And go to hell. I must say, you weren't that much emotional, when we were kids, Tommy." Merlyn scowled as Lex smirked. "I know that this world is much larger than some people might believe and I'm a resourceful man. I've known about Lazarus pits for a while and I've known Oliver's secret for years. Honestly, I'm surprised he hadn't been exposed two years ago but it was noble of that Harper kid to take the fall. Why don't we sort this out like civilized people and get down to business? What do you want, Tommy?" Merlyn sneered as he tightened the hold on his bow. "I know that look in your eyes. You've lost someone recently. Just tell me what's going on and I'll help you as well as I can."

Merlyn deflated as he calmed down. "They… they killed someone I loved. And…"

"So, revenge." Lex said in feigned surprise. "You have my sincere condolences, Tommy. Classic. I know about the LexCorp issued weapons that were used last week in Star City."

Merlyn seethed as he clenched his fist. "Tell me what you know."

"A woman approached me last month. Offered me a seat in the council. She called herself Miranda Tate." Lex said.

" _Talia_." It hit Tommy.

"Yes." Lex nodded. "Elder daughter of the Demon's Head. Who goes by ' _Miranda Tate_ ' nowadays. She helped poison a gala last week in Star City."

"Why?" Merlyn asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lex asked rhetorically. "Power." Then, an alarm bleeped as they heard clanking on the ceiling before from above jumped down a woman in green dress and daggers in her hand. "Jade Nguyen. Cheshire. I'm flattered." Lex smiled.

"Did you really think we would let you walk away without consequences?" Cheshire smirked.

"You want him, you'll have to get through me." Merlyn snarled as he pulled out his sword and started to fence with Cheshire, who blocked with her claws and Merlyn kicked her back, roaring and attacking with relentless rage and quick savagery as Cheshire kept dodging and blocking, not getting one opening to strike Merlyn as he kicked her on the floor and aimed the sword on her face. "Where's Ninth Circle?! Tell me!"

"I'll die before talking." Cheshire sneered.

"Fine! Have it your way, you fucking whore!" Merlyn snapped as he was about to execute her before she dropped a vial on the floor from which went out green vapor and Merlyn and Lex covered their mouths before an arrow stuck on window and it exploded, knocking Merlyn and Lex on the ground as Cheshire jumped out through the hole and Merlyn followed her, while into the office entered an Asian woman with dragon tattoo on her arm in black top, wielding a bow and quiver.

"Mr. Luthor, are you alright?"

"Your help was not necessary." Lex said bitterly as he looked at the Asian woman.

"My name is Shado. The woman was sent by a Bratva captain named Anatoly Knyazev. You and I have a mutual enemy. I had hoped you would be interested in an alliance." She offered.

"I'm listening." Lex said, intrigued.

* * *

Merlyn was chasing Cheshire as they jumped from one rooftop to another before he fired a bola arrow and restrained her legs as she fell down.

"You're not going anywhere, until you tell me where's the Circle!" Merlyn demanded. "Talk, or I'll scatter your pieces all over the city!"

Cheshire smirked as she cut the restraints with her claws and got up on her feet, rushing at Merlyn, who used his bow and sword to block her attacks as he kicked her back and spun around, hitting her in the head and slashing her across her hip with his sword and kicking her down on the ground. She stared at him in contemplation, considering her options.

"If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"Give me a one good reason, and I'll consider it." Merlyn said, losing patience.

"I'll tell you who's been pulling the strings in Star City lately. It was…"

"I know about Dragon!" Merlyn snarled as he was raising his sword.

"No, not Richard Dragon! It was Miranda Tate!" Cheshire wailed. "Miranda Tate!"

Merlyn seethed, feeling betrayed that the woman who had trained him, was behind the recent crimes in Star City.

Cheshire knew, this might have been her only opportunity, so she got up on her feet and ran as Merlyn screamed in relentless rage.

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

"You have gone too far, Miranda." Moira protested as Talia smirked. "You promised that you wouldn't hurt Tommy, or Thea or anyone else close to them."

"I did as you asked. They, alongside with the Birds of Prey are the ones, who interfered. And the council demanded action, so I took initiative." She said coldly.

"You will never get away with…"

"You have lost your right to intervene, when you lost our resources in Gotham and the Court of Owls was exposed." Talia sneered. "I'm sorry… I wanted to rectify the old mistakes of past… but I suppose some things are supposed to stay dead. Though, I am grateful to you."

"For  _what_?" Moira asked.

"That you reminded me that power is the only currency that matters." Talia drove a knife into Moira's heart as she gasped before collapsing on the floor, bleeding. "Don't worry. You'll see your children soon enough in afterlife… old friend. Just tell Robert that they'll join him soon enough."

As the cleaners disposed of Moira's body, a bearded man entered the office. "That was the last of our rivals in the council?" He asked with a strong Russian accent.

"Yes." Talia nodded.

"Who was she?" Anatoly asked.

"No one, who matters anymore." Talia said simply. "By the way, I should be heading to Star City. Keep looking for the artifact. Once we find it, we can unlock power unlike any we ever seen."

* * *

_**Star City** _

"I appreciate the meeting." Tommy said as he sat in a restaurant, wearing a suit, as across him sat a woman with long dark hair. "I know you might hate me because of who I am and I wouldn't come here, unless I didn't have any other choice left. I can't rely on Diggle or anyone else because they would not approve of what I'm doing. Honestly, even I hate myself for it but… she meant everything to me. And I need your help. I need your army. I don't care what it costs me, I lost my soul long ago. If it means that my life belongs to you, then I'll take it."

Nyssa smirked, intrigued. "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. When do we start?"

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you guys think about it?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far.


	15. The Wizard and the Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and Nyssa join together to stop Ninth Circle once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  I  do not own  DC Comics  or the CW TV shows  Arrow ,  The Flash ,  Legends of Tomorrow  or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

 "CIA, A.R.G.U.S and other agencies are hunting the Ninth Circle across the globe, together with Laurel and Birds of Prey. Now, they're escalating unchecked, since Oliver's old friend Anatoly has become a member of the council." Nyssa said as she was on the rooftop with Merlyn. "I understand, why you're asking me for help instead of Mr. Diggle and his comrades but are you certain you want to follow this path?"

"I loved her and they took her away from me." Merlyn growled as Nyssa nodded.

"I understand how you feel. When I lost Sara…"

Merlyn ignored her as they jumped down from the rooftop.

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

Talia, using her alias, Miranda Tate, was mingling with some businessmen at the party. "I believe together we can accomplish great things."

"What exactly is this circle of yours about, Miss Tate?" One of the men asked.

Then, suddenly, the guards approached Talia as they held onto their guns. " _Miranda Tate_? We need you to come with us, please."

Talia kept calm face as she followed them to a private room before they pulled out their pistols. "Talia al Ghul, you are under arrest for multiple acts of terrorism, conspiracy of murders and assassination, corruption and bribery. Stand down right now."

Talia sneered as she pulled out a dagger from the sheath on her thigh and slit their throats before leaving the room and blending in with the crowd. "Anatoly, we have been betrayed."

* * *

_**SCPD** _

"Detective Drake, you will lead manhunt on Miranda Tate." Pike ordered as Dinah nodded.

* * *

_**Elsewhere in Star City** _

"You will pay, Jade." Shado snarled as she blocked Cheshire's claws with her bow and kicked her back.

"You knew what you were getting into, when you joined us, Shado!" Cheshire sneered as she swished her claws but Shado did a salto and evaded her attack.

"We never agreed to direct attack on Merlyn!" Shado yelled as she pulled out a dagger and started to fence with Cheshire as sparks flied, while Cheshire's claws met Shado's bow and dagger. "And I'm so sick of being the Circle's pawn!" She headbutted Cheshire and spun around, swinging her bow and dagger as Cheshire hissed in pain before running away, while Shado started chasing her.

* * *

"Tommy, my scouts seem to have some interesting intel." Nyssa said as Merlyn raised his brow. "It appears that Shado is hunting Jade Nguyen. Aren't they both your enemies and Circle's horsemen?"

Merlyn scowled, confused before he put on his hood.

* * *

On a construction site, Cheshire blocked the flying arrows with her claws as Shado kept on firing. "You cannot do this forever, Shado!"

"One way or another, this must end!" Shado snarled as Cheshire threw a dagger, hitting Shado in the knee as she knelt down before Cheshire neared her and was about to execute her before Merlyn and Nyssa jumped from above, pulling out their swords.

"You should have left Star City, when you had the chance, you fucking whore!" Merlyn sneered. "Don't expect more mercy from me! You're dead meat, Jade!"

Sparks flied as Cheshire blocked Nyssa's and Merlyn's attacks and did a salto as she evaded Nyssa's slash that cut the fabric of her green dress and Cheshire jumped on pillar and bounced off, trying to slash Merlyn's face as he blocked with his sword before Cheshire spun around and tried to scratch Nyssa, who dodged and slashed her on her hip as she hissed in pain. Shado got up on her feet and fired an explosive arrow, hitting Cheshire in the shoulder as she fell into the darkness before Merlyn whirled on her and grabbed her by her throat.

"I'm gonna kill you!" He snarled.

"No, you won't." Shado choked out.

"You bastards killed Rachel! I loved her and you took her away from me!" Merlyn said.

"Believe me…" Shado said quietly. "There's no greater regret that I have than giving you more grief than you've already suffered."

"Then you shouldn't have…" Merlyn squeezed her throat.

"Wait." Nyssa intervened. "I think you should hear her out."

"Why?" Merlyn demanded angrily.

"I can help you take down the Circle once and for all… but you need to listen to me. This has been a plan that has been set in motion ever since Oliver was exposed." Shado said. "I can give you someone else.  _Talia al Ghul_. Her life… for mine."

"And why would I do that? Give me one good reason I shouldn't snap your neck right where you stand!" Merlyn seethed as Shado smirked and neared her lips to his ear, whispering something that made him let her go.

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Star City_ **

Talia was sitting in meditating stance in front of a shrine before she opened her eyes, smirking. "Hello, sister."

"You need to answer for a lot." Nyssa sneered. "I appreciated that you helped us defeat Darhk but you joining the Circle has corrupted your judgement and sense of honor. Father lost his mind from the Lazarus pit and you… all those people around the world and here… how could you?" She gasped out.

"You can't stop violence and pain. Only control it." Talia said. "Power is the only currency that matters. I do not seek control over the world, I'm only making sure that it's in the hands of more capable people…"

"I trusted you." Merlyn hissed. "You trained me and taught me a lot… which I'll never forget. But you have hurt my friends, my family, countless of innocent lives…"

"For all your talent, you're still a boy, with so much left to learn." Talia said before pulling out her sword and engaging Nyssa and Merlyn in swordfight. The blades cut the air as metal hit metal and sparks flied at extremely fast speed as Talia managed to scratch Merlyn's chest as he hissed, before Talia spun around, hitting Nyssa in the back with her arm. "I expected better from you, sister." Nyssa snarled as she raised her hand and swished her blade, while Talia dodged but, then suddenly, Nyssa's arm switched direction as she hit Talia in the shoulder and she screamed in pain as Merlyn kicked her back and tried to slice her head off but Talia ducked and kicked Merlyn in the knee, causing for him to kneel down but he kicked her in the stomach as Talia stumbled.

"One thing you should know about me, I learn fast!" Merlyn yelled as he kept swinging his sword furiously, with Nyssa assisting, not giving Talia an opening as she was forced into a defensive stance before Merlyn roared and with one final fierce strike, he broke Talia's sword as she fell down, while Merlyn was about to execute her before Shado, from an opposite rooftop fired an explosive arrow on the floor as the explosion knocked Merlyn out and everything went black.

* * *

**_Later_ **

Tommy groaned as he woke up, with bandages around himself as at his side were Nyssa and Shado.

"I'm sorry for the interruption but I needed to keep my appearances. Talia needed to believe I do still help her." Tommy nodded. "Tommy, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for everything but I didn't have a choice." Shado said apologetically.

Tommy sighed as he found a flash drive on the night desk beside him. "What is it?"

"All the answers you need, Tommy." Shado said. "I hope you can forgive us. I should go. They'll be calling me back and wondering where have I been. If I don't return, they'll kill my daughter."

"All this time, you were trying to protect her?" Tommy asked as Shado nodded. "I don't blame you. Thea's Mom did the same thing with her and Ollie, since Dad leveraged her."

Shado then put on her hood as she left the room before she stopped briefly at the doorstep. "I know I have no right to say it but… I'm sorry for everything we've put you through." She left as Tommy stared at the flash drive in his hand.

"What will you do?" Nyssa asked.

"I don't know yet." Tommy said. "I assume you'll be hunting the Circle?"

Nyssa nodded. "Shado turned them all in. They cannot hide anymore."

" _Why_?" Tommy asked.

"Like she said, all the answers you need are on the flash drive." Nyssa said before leaving the room.

* * *

_**Few weeks later** _

It's been a while since the vigilante Merlyn has been seen in Star City and there have been no dead or brutalized criminals on the streets for a while, leaving Team Arrow to wonder where was Tommy as Thea entered the partially ruined penthouse, where Tommy had been living with Rachel before she found a laptop, into which was plugged a flash drive and wettened tissue on the table as she assumed Tommy was still grieving before she saw on the screen a video, with Rachel on it as she turned on the recording and then, gasped and widened her mouth and the last words on the video made her cry.

" _I'll understand if you can never forgive me or you need time because you're not ready. But for what it's worth, I never meant to hurt you and everything I did, I did to protect you. What we've had, it was as much real to me as it was to you and I'm sorry for the pain that I've caused you. Whether you want to find me, or you would rather forget me, that's up to you. I just hope I get to see you one more time, just to apologize to you in person for what I've done, if nothing else._

_But remember that no matter what happens…_ " Rachel sniffed. " _I'll always love you, Tommy Merlyn and that you'll always be in my thoughts. And this is goodbye. Whether for now, or for good… that's up to you. Whatever you choose, I'll understand._ "

* * *

**_Elsewhere_ **

Tommy was approaching a house in suburbs as he hit the doorbell button as a teenage girl with brunette hair opened the door and scowled upon seeing Tommy.

"Can I help you?"

"Is Liz here?" Tommy asked as she turned to the corridor wearily.

"Hey, sis! Someone's here to see you!"

" _Who is it?_ " A familiar female voice said as Tommy smiled, happy to hear it after the few weeks.

"Some dude, who looks like Tommy Merlyn!" She said before turning to Tommy nervously as he chuckled.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Tommy said as into the corridor entered a woman with blue eyes and long blonde hair and Tommy smiled to see her beautiful face and cheeks one more time as the woman paled and looked wary and nervous.

"I… Annie, can you give me some privacy?" Rachel asked as the girl went upstairs and she carefully approached Tommy, almost ready that he would attack her. "I… can only imagine what you're feeling right now and…"

Tommy entered the house, his face passive and with no emotions visible. "Can we talk inside, please?"

* * *

**_The Lair_ **

"Thea, what is it?" Diggle asked as Thea plugged the flash drive into TV.

"You really need to see this." She turned on the video file with the oldest date, May 2016, as they all saw Rachel in some kind of an interrogation room, with lamp shining on her.

" _State your name for the record._ " An unknown male voice said.

"That's Ian Marks." Diggle said, recognizing the voice. "He works for CIA. He had been investigating the Ninth Circle and helped the Birds of Prey."

" _Rachel Elizabeth Gibson._ "

" _Do you swear not to divulge any secrets from the operation under any circumstances, unless outside forces coerce you to by means you cannot control?_ "

" _I do._ " Rachel nodded. " _Why have you brought me here? I thought I was done after I testified against Richard Dragon last year._ "

" _Richard Dragon has escaped custody and is in New Mexico_." Ian said as Rachel paled.

" _What, and you want to use me as a bait?_ " She gasped. " _No!_ " She exclaimed, frightened.

" _Calm down._ " Ian assured her. " _I promise you, you will be under protection._ "

" _By CIA? I feel safe already._ " Rachel said sarcastically.

" _Not CIA. Your new target that we will assign to you._ " Ian corrected.

" _Who?_ " Rachel asked warily.

" _Tommy Merlyn._ " Another man said as Roy, Diggle and Thea clenched their fists, recognizing the voice.

" _He's dead._ " Rachel snapped.

" _Miss Gibson, we both know that the world is far bigger than most people think. If you listen to us and get close to Thomas Merlyn, your protection will be guaranteed._ " Agent Smith said.

Rachel narrowed her eyes, curious. " _I'm listening._ "

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will serve as an epilogue to the story and it will fill in all the blanks for you. Sorry for making you think I killed off Rachel but it was necessary. Hopefully, the epilogue will make up for it and I hope you have been enjoying the story so far.
> 
> Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this and want for me to continue.


	16. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The true nature of Rachel is revealed as Tommy struggles to come to terms with the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a concluding epilogue to MERLYN'S REDEMPTION. I hope you'll enjoy it.
> 
> I  do not own  DC Comics  or the CW TV shows  Arrow ,  The Flash ,  Legends of Tomorrow  or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

  _ **One year ago, Santa Fe**_

"I hope you will keep up with your grades, Rachel. And I'm happy you're focused on a double major."

"I've learned computer science from my Dad." Rachel said as she was putting her bag on her back before she walked to her car as an elderly man wearing a suit and with glasses approached her.

" _Rachel Gibson_? Could we please talk?" Agent Smith asked.

* * *

**_New Mexico_ **

Rachel was setting up herself in a motel room in small town as she was getting to know the people around as she looked into her bag and pulled out her laptop, turning on the camera and recording as she took a breath.

"My name is Rachel Elizabeth Gibson. I have been assigned undercover to observe and assess potential threat. Thomas Merlyn. There have been suspected sightings of the target in the area of New Mexico. For now, I will observe before deciding to directly confront the target."

* * *

Later, Rachel again turned on the laptop and recorded.

"I have gained Tommy Merlyn's trust and let him into my apartment. Target seems to suffer from strong guilt complex, presumably from the crimes that he has committed as the assassin known as Prometheus." She took a breath. "I will try and alleviate him of the guilt. Maybe if I help him, he'll trust me and tell me what are his intentions. But, in order to earn his trust, I have to face the man I wish I didn't have to."

* * *

Rachel was drinking a coffee in a restaurant before she heard a voice she didn't want to hear ever again. " _Rachel_?"

She grinned before composing herself and sighing before turning around. "Richard Dragon. A man I wish I never had to see again."

"Can't you give me another chance?" Richard raised his hands in surrender.

"How can I trust you?" Rachel narrowed her eyes. "Who are your friends?" She turned to the thugs behind him.

"I can explain this." Richard said.

"You haven't changed at all." Rachel sneered. "I want nothing to do with your goons and shenanigans ever again."

"Rachel!" Richard yelled as she waltzed off. "Don't you dare turn your back on me! Rachel!"

* * *

Rachel was again at the laptop, recording.

"There has been an… interesting development today." She sighed. "After our… night, my ex-husband, former member of League of Assassins and a criminal has shown up. He… and Tommy Merlyn had a confrontation that ended badly for Tommy. It was… noble of him. Stupid, but noble. Given what he's done as Prometheus, I'd say it makes up a bit for it."

* * *

_**Elsewhere** _

"Are there any developments?" Moira asked.

"Rachel has engaged Tommy Merlyn and they have come to a… sexual relationship." Mercy said.

"That quickly?" Moira raised her brows.

"Agent Smith was not pleased." Shado said.

"Agent Smith can think whatever he can, but he will not interfere." Moira said harshly.

* * *

**_Star City_ **

"So, I set myself up a penthouse near Star City and Tommy is being currently trained by Talia al Ghul, who had been looking for a new student but also, CIA, A.R.G.U.S. and other agencies are suspecting her of helping found a new version of H.I.V.E. that had terrorized Star City last year, calling themselves the Ninth Circle." Rachel wiped her face. "I will try to assist Tommy as best as I can without compromising myself."

* * *

"Tommy's afraid to engage Thea Queen, John Diggle or any other of the people associated with Oliver Queen." Rachel said. "That is possibly due to combination of guilt complex and post-traumatic stress disorder he has been showing signs of. I'm trying to alleviate the pain as much as I can. He does trust me. I'm surprised he was willing to engage me in sexual relationship that quickly. Whether John Diggle, Thea Queen and their comrades will trust me or not remains to be seen. They're still wary of Tommy engaging in vigilante activity, due to his past actions as Prometheus."

* * *

"It's crazy." Rachel said. "He saved me against from my crazed ex-husband, with the help of a doppelganger of the woman he used to love and of his sister. Whatever other people might think, I believe that makes him a hero, what he's done today. I've known he had potential to do more good… he just needed a push." She laughed. "I'm surprised that Thea, Diggle and the team was willing to trust me so quickly. I'm not sure if it's because of my association to Tommy, or it's because they believe that I'm so vulnerable and that I need their protection. Maybe it's both."

* * *

"It's calm for once. No crazy metahumans or armed thugs… nothing to report about Tommy that would be interesting." Rachel chuckled. "Yet I still sit here, talking to myself… because… I have feelings for him. Really." She wiped her wet eye. "I love Tommy Merlyn and I don't know what to do. If I tell him about my mission, he'll either kill me, or leave me… but… there are days when it's easy to forget why did I approach him all those months ago… and some days, it's so hard for me to keep the truth from him. But… the Ninth Circle will want revenge because we disposed of Richard. And… they'll come for me and I don't know what to do without compromising everything."

* * *

" _There has been a development, Rachel._ " Moira said over the phone.

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

" _Joe Wilson. Son of Slade Wilson and his men. They have come to Star City. They will target you. I'm afraid extreme measures need to be taken. I wish things hadn't come to this._ "

* * *

**_Starling General_ **

Rachel was half-conscious as Shado, dressed up as a nurse injected some liquid into the drip. "It will temporarily slow your heartbeat, almost to the point of zero beat per minute. He needs to believe that you're dead, if he helps take down the Circle."

" _I… understand._ " She said weakly as she saw the liquid entering her veins before Shado left and Tommy entered.

* * *

**_Present_ **

"Tommy…" Rachel took a breath as they were sitting on a couch, staring at each other as she couldn't hold back tears. "I may not have right to do it but… all I can say is that I'm sorry for everything." She sniffed. "I never tricked you into loving me. It was real to me as much as it was to you."

Tommy sighed as he didn't reply while she took a breath. "So, what happens now?"

"I don't know." Tommy said. "It… I don't know if can ever get past the fact that you lied to me."

"I know I hurt you and I'm truly sorry. I know that nothing I can say or do can make up for what I've done. I'm not expecting forgiveness. I just hope you'll understand." Rachel insisted. "Considering what you've done, this was lesser evil, some people wanted you dead."

Tommy considered her explanation before admitting that was fair as he nodded. "I don't blame you for what you did… but I'm not ready to get past this. I'm not sure I even can. The whole time you spied on me, lied to me…"

"They promised that they would protect me and… from what I've heard, I wanted to believe you deserve a chance." Rachel said.

Tommy sighed. "I can understand why you did it… but I'm not ready to forgive you."

"So, I guess you came to say goodbye. For now, or forever?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

"I don't know." Tommy said as he was going outside before Rachel spoke up again.

"If you never want to see me again, I'll understand… but know that what we had was as real to me as it was to you… and I'm sorry for everything."

Tommy sighed. "Goodbye, Rachel." He left outside before he heard a phone call from Thea.

" _Tommy, can you get to Star City? Please? I'd appreciate it._ " Thea said.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked.

* * *

**_White House_ **

"Agent Smith." President said. "It has come to my notion that you intended to use Prometheus, Thomas Merlyn as your own asset for black ops. And potentially targeting the people who would pose threat  _according_  to you, including some people, who have served our country far longer than you."

Smith paled. "Mr. President, I have no idea…"

But the president put on the desk all the evidence as Smith held his chest, his heart racing.

* * *

**_A.R.G.U.S._ **

" _Sir, this clearly is falsified!_ " Smith protested as Lyla and Mercy were watching him lamely defend himself, smirking.

" _A reliable source confirmed it._ " President countered.

" _What? Who?_ " Smith demanded.

"Information is valuable currency." Mercy drank her glass of wine.

"Good that you came to sense and thank you for all the intel on the Ninth Circle." Lyla nodded.

* * *

_**Star City** _

Team Arrow was taking cover behind cars as Vigilante was shooting at them before Merlyn fired an explosive arrow on the ground and jumped down from above, facing Vigilante.

Spartan, Arsenal, Speedy, the Canary, Ragman, Wild Dog and Mr. Terrific smiled amused to see the archer in black after the past few weeks as he notched an arrow.

"Dorian Chase, you have failed this city!" Merlyn yelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end to MERLYN'S REDEMPTION. 
> 
> Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed the story to its end.


End file.
